A Monroe County jury returned a verdict in favor of awarding total damages of $2.23 million to Dan and Terri Krebel as the result of injuries Dan sustained during a September 2017 house explosion on Lemen Road near Burksville.

The defendant in the case was Diewald Utility Services of Red Bud.

The initial filing in January 2019 alleged an underground propane supply line was “severed and caused fugitive propane gas to be released” into the house he was working at as a “result of one or more of Diewald’s negligent acts or omissions,” causing the explosion.

Krebel was performing plumbing services in the house at the time of the incident and sustained “severe and permanent bodily injury,” among other injuries described in the suit.

Terri was also named as a plaintiff in the suit as she had been “deprived of (Dan’s) care … and has become liable for medical, hospital and other expenses that have been incurred as a result of his injuries.”

While total damages awarded were $2.23 million, the jury found Diewald to be responsible for 77.5 percent of combined legal responsibility. The total “recoverable damages” are listed on the verdict document at $1,839,750.

There is a separate lawsuit filed by AMCO Insurance Company “as subrogee” of the Lemen Road homeowner, Kenneth Kloepper, against both Diewald and Krebel Plumbing LLC. The suit alleges Diewald and Krebel are liable for the homeowner insurance claim against the loss of the house in the explosion.

The jury trial in this matter is scheduled to be heard in Monroe County Circuit Court this September.