'David versus Goliath mentality': Alabama man wins $70 million lawsuit against Tyson Farms

KSBW ^ | Apr 9, 2026

[nickcarraway]

Mark Griffin won a $70 million verdict against Tyson Farms after wastewater from the company’s Hanceville plant polluted the Black Warrior River in Alabama, leading to a flesh-eating bacterial infection that changed his life.

Tyson Farms is a part of the Tyson Foods family of businesses.

"I want the people who are responsible for the spill in the river to have to be held accountable for what they've done," Griffin said.

The long recovery

Griffin contracted flesh-eating bacteria from the Black Warrior River six years ago after a pipe malfunction at Tyson Farms’ Hanceville plant released hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater into the river.

Griffin spent nearly 80 days in the hospital and said he is still dealing with the effects years later. He described ongoing weakness and said it took five or six years to recover.

"It got to be where I would fall a lot because of the weakness of laying up for 80 days, and it doesn't seem like it would take five, six years to get over it, but it took five or six years to get over this stuff," Griffin said.

Attorney Josh Vick highlighted Griffin’s resilience throughout the ordeal.

"Seven years later, he's still dealing with the effects of this illness and will be for the rest of his life. The impact that it had on his life, his illness, but also sort of his resiliency and his refusal to quit was really impressive to us. That makes it easier for us to stick with something like this," Vick said.

A hard-fought legal battle

Griffin’s attorney, Dennis Goldasich, said the case was a difficult one against Tyson Farms, with large legal teams on both sides.

"At any given point in time, there were teams on both of the defendants that looked like it was 14 to 15 people in the courtroom at any point in time," Goldasich said. "Our team fought as hard as we could, and it certainly lent itself to a David versus Goliath mentality."

The verdict

The $70 million award is the largest verdict in Walker County, Alabama, history. Griffin said he hopes it helps prevent future pollution and holds those responsible accountable.

"I feel like it will help to stop this from happening anymore and polluting the river any more than it did. Other people as polluters maybe could look at that and say, 'Maybe I better quit,' because there are other people that pollute the river as well," Griffin said.

What happens next

Tyson Farms could still appeal the verdict, though no appeal had been filed at the last check. Griffin’s lawsuit is one of several tied to the spill, and five other cases are still pending.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food; Local News
KEYWORDS: alabama; pollution; tysonfarms

[mass55th]

Tyson has been polluting water systems for many years.

[algore]

Mark Griffin and Mike Tyson should have just settled this in the Ring with PPV like Real Men.

[SuperLuminal]

70 million is not enough...
I’d say bankrupt this scurvy company and its preponderance of migrany-invader employees...

[CondoleezzaProtege]

This is the kind of thing I wanted MAGA/MAHA to be about…

[Veto!]

When driving coast to coast, I could always smell those huge disgusting chicken farms from miles away. Poor little birds don’t have lives, they are just born to die.

Yes,,, I eat chicken, only meat I eat, have it every third night. Pasture raised chicken thighs, a little more expensive but not that much. And buy pasture-raised eggs too. Friend knows the familuy that sells great eggs at local stores here: : Safeway and Natural Grocer. “Wilcox Family Farms” in the Pacific NW. Not sure they sell all over the country. Trader Joe has good pasture raised chicken and eggs too. Birds have happier lives and taste better too.