University sues cleaning service for $1 million after janitor shuts off lab freezer, ruining decades of research
Key Takeaways
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute claims decades of research were destroyed when a janitor turned off a specimen freezer.
Rensselaer is suing the janitor’s employer, but not the janitor himself, for over $1 million in damages.
The destroyed specimens were related to the work of Dr. K.V. Lakshmi, representing over 20 years of hard work, according to the university.
Decades of scientific research have been lost at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a private research university in York, NY, after a janitor shut off a freezer in an attempt to silence an alarm.[]
The freezer contained cell cultures and other specimens related to research being led by Rensselaer professor Dr. K.V. Lakshmi.
The specimens were destroyed when the freezer was shut off, and Rensselaer is suing the janitor’s employer, Daigle Cleaning Systems Inc., for over $1 million in damages and legal fees.
According to her faculty profile, Dr. Lakshmi is recognized worldwide for her research on “the development of state-of-the-art multi-frequency multi-dimensional pulsed EPR spectroscopy, solids NMR spectroscopy and electron-nuclear spectroscopy methods.”[]
A malfunctioning alarm
According to the university’s lawsuit, Daigle Cleaning was contracted to provide cleaning services at Rensselaer in 2020. In mid-September that year, the alarm for the specimen freezer, located in the Baruch ’60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research, began to malfunction.
On Sept. 14, 2020, Rensselaer professors noticed that even slight variations in temperature were causing the freezer alarm to sound. A call was put out to the freezer’s manufacturer for emergency repair, and a sign was put up cautioning everyone who entered the lab not to unplug or move the freezer.
According to court documents, the sign 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.”
A safety lock was also placed on the freezer outlet and socket. The Rensselaer research team believed that these precautions would keep the specimens safe until repairs, scheduled for Sept. 21, 2020, could be completed. COVID-19 restrictions and delays prevented them from occurring any sooner.
On Sept. 17, 2020, the janitor flipped circuit breaker cables in an attempt to silence the alarms. In later interviews with the university, he called the alarms “annoying.”
He also stated that he misread the breaker panel, and that he believed there were important breaker switches turned off that should not have been. In multiple comments, the janitor repeated that his actions were an attempt to help the situation.
Specimens could not be salvaged
The cultures stored in the freezer needed to remain at temperatures of between minus-115.6 and minus-108.4 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid damage. By the time research students arrived on the morning of Sept. 18, 2020, freezer temperatures had reached minus-25.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
As a result, most cultures and specimens in the freezer were destroyed and, despite attempts by the research team, could not be salvaged. The university’s lawsuit claims that over 20 years of work were ruined.
Rensselaer is not suing the janitor. In statements, the janitor has maintained he was trying to help, and the suit does not fault him for the error. Instead, the lawsuit is against Daigle Cleaning Systems, which Rensselaer claims did not provide proper training and supervision to their employees. According to the lawsuit, this failure is what lead to what Rensselaer is calling, “catastrophic damage.” The suit against Daigle Cleaning was filed on June 16, 2023.