E-Cigarette Explosion
E-Cigarette Explosion Cases, Lawsuits and Lawyers
Since 2007, Americans have had the option of choosing to use an electronic cigarette (e-cig) or a vaporizer to receive their nicotine fix as opposed to traditional tobacco products. Many print and online advertisements showed e-cig users as being “cool” and “hip,” and the devices themselves were portrayed as being safe for regular use. Recent events reported in the news have shown that some batteries in these devices can explode, causing serious burns in some cases. Lawsuits are now being filed on behalf of victims who suffered burns and other injuries as a result of these exploding e-cigs.
An Overview of E-Cigarette Explosion Cases
E-cigs were first introduced in the United States in 2007 and have been growing in popularity since. It is estimated that 2.5 million Americans or more use an e-cig or vaporizer device in conjunction with or instead of traditional cigars and cigarettes. These devices vary in size, shape, and color, but all contain an element used to heat a liquid “juice” solution containing a flavor as well as nicotine. As the user inhales on the device (or presses a button manually), the element heats the liquid into a vapor resembling smoke that the user then inhales. A battery, most often a lithium-ion battery, powers the heating element.
Lithium-ion batteries are common in a variety of electronic devices and consist of a liquid electrolyte “core”. This core can explode if the battery itself overheats, is punctured, or experiences a short circuit. About 25 e-cig explosions were reported between the years of 2009 and 2014: at least two of these cases involved severe burns and another seven cases saw victims suffering other types of injuries. Some of these reported cases include:
- A truck driver whose face was injured after his e-cig exploded while it was being charged in his truck’s cab;
- A man was placed in a medically induced coma after his vaporizer exploded during use, sending the vaporizer down the man’s throat where it exploded again. Burns were reported on the man’s face and neck.
- A woman suffered burns on her thighs and buttocks after an e-cig device she was charging in her car exploded and began to shoot flames. These flames caught the woman’s dress on fire, leading to the burns.
- In 2012, a man who was using an e-cig suffered burns and lost teeth as well as part of his tongue when the device exploded in his mouth.
As a result of these and other e-cig explosion incidents, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued regulations prohibiting airline passengers and crewmembers from bringing e-cig devices onto the plane on their person or in checked baggage. The fear is that the lithium-ion batteries can overheat or be punctured (even when inside checked baggage) and start a fire while the plane is in flight.
Why File an E-Cigarette Explosion Lawsuit?
If an exploding e-cig device caused injury to you or a loved one, you may have suffered burns and injuries to your face, mouth, and other parts of your body. This may have caused you to incur medical bills and expenses to treat your injuries and repair the damage caused by the exploding device. Not only this, but you may have needed to miss time away from work and suffered mental pain, trauma, and may not enjoy life and favorite activities as much as you used to as a result of the explosion. You ought not bear the costs of an e-cig explosion along.
Manufacturers of e-cigs and vaporizers who produce a dangerous product that can explode without warning have a duty to warn the public of this fact and take steps to prevent injuries. Lawsuits filed against e-cig manufacturers allege that not only did these manufacturers produce a device that is dangerous to consumers even when consumers use the device as intended, manufacturers also failed to warn consumers of the chance that the lithium-ion batteries in the devices could explode if they were overcharged or if the device itself became overheated. These failures deprived e-cig users of the opportunity to determine whether the risk was worth the pleasure of using the device. Victims injured by these defective products file lawsuits to hold manufacturers accountable for carelessly allowing a dangerous product to be released for use by the public and failing to advise the public of the device’s dangers.
Compensation May be Available for Your E-Cigarette Explosion Case
If you or a loved one were injured by an exploding e-cig, save whatever parts of the e-cig device you can and contact Stern Law, PLLC at (844) 808-7529. Experienced e-cig explosion injury attorney Ken Stern will review the facts of your case and can tell you whether you may have a claim against the manufacturer of your device. Because you only have a limited time in which to file a claim for damages, contact Stern Law, PLLC as soon as possible.
