The family of the businessman who died from a sip of Jermuk filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer for 1.5 billion rubles.

A lawsuit was filed on behalf of Gusov’s widow and two daughters before the Sovetsky District Court of Vladikavkaz. The defendants are Jermuk Group CJSC (Yerevan), the Russian Jermuk Mineral Water LLC and two individual entrepreneurs through whom the dangerous goods passed.

According to the plaintiffs, on February 11, 2024, Gusov purchased 12 glass bottles of mineral water at a market stall in Vladikavkaz. After taking a sip of one of them, the man felt unwell and was hospitalized and later transferred to the Moscow Research Institute. Sklifosovsky with “intoxication of unknown etiology.” There, the man was diagnosed with acetic acid poisoning and exotoxic shock.

On February 13, Gusov died from chemical injuries and burns to the mucous membranes of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach and other organs. Acetic acid is used in mineral water bottling plants as a cleaning agent for glass containers; Its presence in the Jermuk bottle purchased by a businessman could be a consequence of a violation of the technological process, the plaintiffs believe.

The amount of the claim includes both compensation for moral damage and payment of medical expenses, including an air ambulance flight from Vladikavkaz to Moscow, which cost 5 million rubles. The plaintiffs also demand that the sale of Jermuk mineral water be suspended until the reason for the acid entering the bottle is determined.

Jermuk Group CJSC did not respond to Kommersant’s request.

The Russian Investigative Committee opened a case under Article 238 of the Criminal Code (production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products that do not meet safety requirements). The investigation into the circumstances of the businessman’s death has not yet been concluded, and the questions of the investigation in Armenia have not yet been answered, Kommersant notes.