Jury Awards $27M in Damages Over Indiana Explosion

A jury has awarded $27 million in damages to a family over a propane explosion at a central Indiana horse farm that killed a man and injured three family members.

The Morgan County jury reached the damages award against defendants including the Martinsville-based South Central Indiana REMC electric utility and its propane subsidiary.

Utility official Maura Giles tells The Reporter-Times that damages in the case would be paid by its insurance coverage and that a decision hadn’t been made on whether to appeal the verdict reached this month.

The 2004 explosion near Martinsville destroyed an indoor horse arena and fatally injured 32-year-old Steve Fredrick of Indianapolis who was house-sitting in an adjacent apartment. Also suffering severe burns were Fredrick’s wife, their 2-year-old son, another adult relative and 2-year-old girl.