A South Korean contract worker is suing LG Energy Solution Michigan after a pipe explosion at the company's Holland battery plant left him with a traumatic brain injury, severe facial fractures and disfiguring jaw and mouth injuries. Dong-won Park says the Sept. 23 blast happened while he was speaking with a plant supervisor after watching two workers manipulate pressure valves on a pipeline inside the facility.
Park was employed by IBG Construction Inc. from Aug. 1 through Sept. 23 and was in the United States at LGES's request to work on a project at the Holland facility, according to the lawsuit detailed by MLive.com. The suit claims LGES supervisor Subin Kim had requested that pipe-modification work be completed that same afternoon, and that the explosion followed shortly after Park observed the valve work in progress. Attorney Ven Johnson, who represents Park out of Detroit, is seeking a jury trial and compensation exceeding $75,000, along with court costs, interest and attorney fees.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 13 in Ottawa County Circuit Court, alleges LGES owed Park duties as a business invitee to maintain reasonably safe premises, eliminate known or reasonably anticipated hazards and provide warnings. It also notes that Park held a B-1 visa for limited business purposes and was not authorized to perform productive labor or receive compensation from a U.S. entity. Holland Fire Services confirmed it responded to the plant on Sept. 23, according to WOODTV.com, after being called for a man with a chin laceration.
A Facility With a Troubled Safety Record
Johnson has framed the explosion as part of a broader pattern. He said the Holland facility has been the site of repeated serious incidents, pointing to a ruptured pipe that killed a worker in 2023 as evidence that LG must take responsibility for what he called its pattern of reckless behavior and lack of safety oversight, the MLive report states.
That 2023 death involved a 41-year-old man from Louisiana working on a crew testing a pressurized pipe at the site of a $1.4 billion facility expansion. Police said that as pressure was being released, a plate became free and struck the worker, damaging his hard hat and causing a fatal head injury, per the same MLive account. In July 2025, South Korean worker Kim Jung Won died after becoming partially trapped in a machine while working for LG PRI, a vendor performing machinery operations at the plant; CBS News Detroit reported he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a city of Holland news release.
Chemical Spill and State Fines
In September 2025, a chemical spill at the facility sent people to local hospitals, though reports differ on how many: MLive put the number at 15 patients evaluated and treated with no life-threatening injuries, while WOODTV.com reported that 16 people were treated at three area hospitals and released without admission. A solvent spill behind that incident was estimated at between 50 and 100 gallons, WOODTV.com reported, citing firefighters on scene.
State regulators have also taken aim at the plant's safety practices. According to WOODTV.com's reporting on 2024 inspection findings, the Holland facility was cited for 10 serious violations and seven overall safety violations, resulting in $175,000 in fines — a breakdown that separately included eight serious violations totaling $28,000 and two willful serious violations worth $70,000 each. MIOSHA placed LG Energy Solution under the supervision of its Severe Violator Enforcement Program because of those two willful violations, and conducted two inspections between October 2023 and February 2024, the station reported.
In a separate account of the citation history, WOODTV.com reported that MIOSHA records show the plant received at least 20 citations between April 2021 and July 2024, including 13 serious and two willful citations, with original fines totaling just under $300,000 before LG ultimately paid about $90,000.
Company Response
LG Energy Solution Michigan told MLive that the safety and well-being of everyone working at all of its facilities remains a top priority, and said the company takes all injuries seriously and remains committed to maintaining a safe working environment. A company spokesperson declined to comment further or provide additional details about the incident, according to the outlet's reporting.
No trial date had been set as of the article's publication. Johnson has said he intends to continue demanding answers and fighting for justice for Park and his family as the case moves through Ottawa County Circuit Court.
