$180 Million Verdict in ConAgra Silo Explosion

It all started with a chemical reaction, reports the Chicago Tribune. The reaction lit part of the grain. The fire smoldered, and pressure built, and no one said a word. The only indication of a problem, to the three-man cleaning crew, was a funny smell and a little smoke.

It went on for six weeks before John W. Jentz, Robert Schmidt, and Justin Becker were sent in to clean the silo. No one warned them.

On April 27, 2010, a supervisor told the trio to pull their machines out of the silo, so that a fire inspection could be arranged. While he was on the phone with the department, the build-up finally became too much.

Fireballs shot through the silo. The three-man crew was absorbed in flames.

Jentz, after suffering multiple skin grafts and painful rehabilitation, was awarded $ 42.5 million. He had burns on close to 80 percent of his body, reports ABC Chicago.

Becker, who was also burned severely, inside and out, was awarded $ 34 million. He had to undergo corneal transplantation and have his eyelids rebuilt.

Schmidt suffered burns to his head and hands, reports the Tribune. He was in an elevator outside of the silo when it lit up. A fireball shot up the shaft and engulfed his head in flames. According to ABC, he was awarded $ 2.9 million.

The lawyers for the trio told reporters that the silo hadn't been cleaned properly in over twenty years. That, and the failure to warn the cleaning crew about the smoldering grain, smell, and smoke, probably formed the basis of negligence and premises liability claims.

In premises liability claims, a property owner who knows about a dangerous condition has a duty to warn those they invite on their land about the condition, as well as a duty to attempt to fix the problem. If not, the owner is responsible for foreseeable accidents or injuries that occur as a result of the dangerous condition.

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