Cleaning company sued for $1M after janitor’s major mistake at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York

The company held a $1.4m (£1.1m) contract to clean the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York back in 2020 which is when the alleged incident happened.

Research on photosynthesis, headed by Prof KV Lakshmi, had the potential to be "ground-breaking" in furthering solar panel development, a lawyer for the institute wrote.

A few days before the freezer was turned off, an alarm went off to alert a 3C temperature rise. Though the fluctuation could have been catastrophic, Prof Lakshmi "determined that the cell cultures, samples and research were not being harmed," the legal case read.

Due to Covid restrictions at the time, it would take a week before any repairs could begin.

In the meantime, a sign on the freezer's door read: "This freezer is beeping as it is under repair. Please do not move or unplug it. No cleaning required in this area.

"You can press the alarm/test mute button for 5-10 seconds if you would like to mute the sound."

But days after the alarm started sounding, the cleaner turned off the circuit breaker providing electricity to the freezer.

More at source: BBC

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