Michigan Worker Wins $75M in Grocery Store Chemical Leak Lawsuit

A major grocery store chain with 120 locations across 82 Michigan cities, and many more across the country, has been ordered to pay $75 million in damages. A jury in Oakland County awarded an HVAC tech and pipefitter with the largest liability verdict in Michigan history.

Who Is Brian Mierendorf?

In 2020, 37-year-old Brian Mierendorf was working on a refrigeration system at a grocery store in Bloomfield Township when his world was changed forever.

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The refrigeration unit blew up and began spewing a toxic chemical during business hours in front of the meat counter. In an attempt to protect customers and employees Mierendorf used his hands in an attempt to stop the leak.

What Is R22 and Why Is It Banned?

Tragically for Mierendorf, he found his hands covered in a banned refrigerant chemical known as R22. Production of any system using R22 was made illegal in Michigan in 2010, and use of the toxic R22 was also banned by the Environmental Protection Agency. So why was this chemical still being used in a Kroger supermarket in 2025?

READ MORE: Kroger Closes 4 Stores after Workers Walk Off the Job

Brian Mierendorf suffered major burns, has since had 25 surgeries and has lost most of both his hands as a result of the incident. How is an HVAC technician supposed to work without his most important tools, his hands?

The Lawsuit and Legal Verdict

Yesterday, a jury in Oakland County awarded Mierendorf a record-breaking $75 million dollars due to his injury. Jon Marko of Marko Law represented Mierendorf in the case saying that 'Kroger had a ticking time bomb in its store at Bloomfield Township, waiting to blow.'

According to the attorney, despite the fact that the defendant was trying to prevent more people from being harmed by the grocer's negligence, Kroger’s defense strategy was to 'blame Brian for his heroic actions.'

Marko continued, 'The verdict sends a clear message to Kroger that Brian’s actions should be commended, and that Brian literally gave up his hands in the line of duty at the expense of himself and his family is priceless.'