E-Cigarette Explosion Lawsuits
If you’ve been victim to a fire, explosion, or other injury resulting from an e-cigarette battery, you deserve to be compensated for your injuries and other losses. Contact our firm for a free consultation today.
Quick Links
- What are e-cigarettes?
- E-Cigarette Explosions in the News
- Why do e-cigarettes explode?
- Common Injuries from E-Cigarette Explosions
- Tips to Prevent E-Cigarette Explosions
- Can I receive compensation if I was injured by an e-cigarette explosion?
- Why should I hire the personal injury lawyers at Cutter Law to handle my e-cigarette explosion lawsuit?
E-cigarettes may look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Others may resemble pens, USB sticks, and other everyday items. Using an e-cigarette is usually referred to as vaping.
Oftentimes, individuals attempt to quit traditional cigarette smoking by using e-cigarettes. Studies of people who have decided to switch to vaping are mixed. Some are successful while others continue to use a mix of e-cigarettes and cigarettes. If people are successful in switching to full e-cigarette use, they may be able to benefit from them. However, scientists still have a lot to learn about their impact.
The U.S. Surgeon General released a report on e-cigarette usage among adults. It found that in 2015:
- 29.8% of e-cigarette users were former cigarette smokers
- 58.8% were current regular cigarette smokers
- 11.4% had never been regular cigarette smokers
Additional statistics showed that youth were more likely than adults to use e-cigarettes. For those aged between 18 and 24 years old, 40% had never been regular cigarette smokers. This data indicates that e-cigarettes may be an attractive alternative to youth, despite the potential for nicotine addiction or exposure to other cancer-causing chemicals found to be present in e-cigarettes.
In addition to the potential for negative health effects associated with e-cigarettes, there may also be unintended injuries. E-cigarettes are known to cause fires and explosions, some of which have resulted in serious harm.
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that over 25 separate incidents involving e-cigarette explosions occurred between 2009 and 2014 – well before e-cigarettes became a household name. These incidents were widely reported in the media and resulted in significant injuries to the face, hands, and thigh or groin to those affected.
What are e-cigarettes?
E-cigarettes are seen by many as a replacement for traditional cigarettes. They produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavors, and other chemicals that help to make the aerosol. Users inhale the aerosol into their lungs. E-cigarettes come in many shapes and sizes, and they may have a battery, a heating element, and a place to hold a liquid.
E-cigarettes house a fluid that may be inhaled as it’s heated. This fluid may contain nicotine and other chemicals used to promote the heating of the aerosol. Contrary to cigarettes, which contain over 7,000 chemicals known to contribute directly to cancer, e-cigarettes are not quite as dangerous.
A traditional cigarette contains tobacco, chemicals, and nicotine, and is traditionally rolled in paper. Individuals who smoke cigarettes light them using matches or a lighter. Some may contain filters made of cotton, while others do not.
Common Nicknames for E-Cigarettes
There are a number of nicknames for e-cigarettes. Typical names are:
- E-cigs
- Electronic cigarettes
- Vapes
- Vape pens
- Vaporizers
- Tank systems
- Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)
The names of e-cigarettes may vary according to where they’re used and what type of e-cigarette is described.
Popular E-Cigarette Brands
There are a number of popular e-cigarette brands in the United States and across the world. These include:
- JUUL
- JUUL pods
- blu
- Logic
- MarkTen
- Vuse
Who is using e-cigarettes?
A study by the CDC found that e-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among youth.
- In 2021, 2.06 million U.S. middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days.
- In 2019, 4.5% of U.S. adults were current e-cigarette users.
- Among adult e-cigarette users, 36.9% also smoked cigarettes, 39.5% formerly smoked cigarettes, and 23.6% had never smoked cigarettes.
Why do people use e-cigarettes?
There are a number of reasons why people choose to use e-cigarettes:
- Cheaper than regular cigarettes
- Flavors make them attractive
- Easily accessible
- As a safer alternative to traditional smoking
- Trendy among young people
- Don’t have the strong tobacco smell associated with regular cigarettes
- Promoted on social media
As people have seen them as less dangerous than traditional cigarettes, their usage has grown in recent years.
E-Cigarette Explosions in the News
There are often stories about e-cigarette explosions in the news. While explosions of e-cigarettes are not extremely common when they do occur they may cause severe injuries. Stories of e-cigarette explosions include:
- A Cleveland man whose vape device exploded in his pocket, resulting in severe leg burns
- The explosion of a vape pen when in a teen’s mouth, leading to a shattered jaw, missing teeth, and burns around the lips
- 3rd degree burns requiring a skin graft after the explosion of a vape device in a man’s pocket
- Severe facial injuries and burns to the hand, mouth, and tongue after the explosion of a vape pen used by a man in the U.K.
- A woman who died after her e-cigarette caught fire while she was in bed in Ireland
- A man who was killed after an e-cigarette exploded in his face in Fort Worth, TX
- Explosion of an e-cigarette being charged overnight almost destroying a family home in Turkey
As the use of e-cigarettes has continued to climb, there’s a risk that severe injuries will increase as well due to malfunction.
Why do e-cigarettes explode?
E-cigarettes can explode as a result of defects in lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly used to heat the fluid in the device. An e-cigarette may spontaneously explode in the user’s pocket or hands, leading to blast, burn, and chemical injuries.
Due to the cylindrical design of batteries in e-cigarettes, a malfunction may result in pressure that builds up quickly and then ruptures at the weakest point, propelling the battery and leading to severe injury or fire.
Common Injuries from E-Cigarette Explosions
There are a number of serious injuries associated with the explosion of e-cigarettes. Some of these injuries may disfigure an individual for life, resulting in high medical costs, loss of the ability to work, and emotional distress. Injuries sustained from the explosion of e-cigarettes include:
- First, second, and third-degree burns from flames and chemicals
- Facial injuries
- Skin loss and grafting
- Tooth loss
- Lacerations
- Traumatic tattooing caused by shrapnel from the devices
All of these injuries can cause serious harm and potential disfigurement.
Tips to Prevent E-Cigarette Explosions
There are several tips that you can follow to help prevent e-cigarette explosions. These include:
1. Use Vape Devices with Safety Features
There are e-cigarette devices available that include safety features such as firing button locks, vent holes, and protection against overcharging.
2. Keep Loose Batteries in a Case to Prevent Contact with Metal Objects
If batteries come in contact with coins, keys, or other metals in your pocket, they may be more likely to cause an explosion.
3. Never Charge Your Vape Device with a Phone or Tablet Charger
You should only use the charger that was provided with the vape device, never one that is used for another electrical product.
4. Don't Charge Your Vape Device Overnight
Charging your vape device overnight may lead to overcharging, resulting in an explosion.
5. Replace the Batteries If They’re Damaged or Wet
If the battery becomes damaged or wet, it’s more likely to become volatile and potentially explode. Don’t use vape devices with damaged batteries. Either replace the entire device or seek a new battery from the manufacturer.
Can I receive compensation if I was injured by an e-cigarette explosion?
You may receive financial compensation if you were injured by an e-cigarette explosion. Compensation can include a variety of damages, including:
Economic Damages
Economic damages include compensation for medical bills associated with injuries from the explosion, including physical therapy, plastic surgery, ongoing treatments, and other types of therapy. They may also include lost wages for being unable to work as a result of the injury, disability, and loss of employment.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages can include compensation for pain and suffering and emotional distress.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages may be awarded by the court to set an example for others in cases where the injuries sustained were significant and caused by extreme negligence.
Why should I hire the personal injury lawyers at Cutter Law to handle my e-cigarette explosion lawsuit?
Hiring a lawyer well-versed in complicated personal injury litigation can be helpful to your case. The knowledgeable team of attorneys at Cutter Law has experience in handling e-cigarette explosion lawsuits and we understand how to represent our clients.
We recently obtained a $1 million settlement for a client whose e-cigarette exploded in her pocket, resulting in severe burns to her abdomen and leg. Other personal injury settlements have resulted in significant compensation for victims of malfunctioning products. Testimonials to our firm have continuously expressed how Cutter Law Firm strives for excellence for our clients.
If you’ve been victim to a fire, explosion, or other injury resulting from an e-cigarette battery, you deserve to be compensated for your injuries and other losses. Contact our firm for a free consultation today.
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