$15M Awarded in Lawsuit Over E-Cig Battery Explosion Injuries

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

E-Cig Battery Explosion Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: A Florida jury awarded an e-cigarette customer $15 million in damages in a lawsuit lodged against retailer Vapor Life LLC and Vapor Life 5 LLC.
• Why: The man claimed an e-cig battery he purchased from Vapor Life exploded in his pocket, resulting in third degree burns. 
• Where: The lawsuit is being heard in a Florida court. 

E-cig battery explosion burns have resulted in a $15 million jury award to a Florida consumer. 

Manuel Ortega, who says he suffered third-degree burns through his lower extremities after an electronic cigarette battery caught fire in his pocket, lodged the lawsuit against retailers Vapor Life LLC and Vapor Life 5 LLC in 2017. 

Ortega claimed he had only been using the Vapor Life e-cig battery for a month when it exploded in his pocket in 2016. The explosion caused the battery to leak acid, and his leg caught fire, Ortega alleged. 

He claimed the battery had a design fault, including an absence of adequate thermal protection.

In a one-day trial on Oct. 19, jurors decided Ortega was due $5 million for past pain and suffering, and $10 million for future pain and suffering. 

They also decided his $21,000 medical bills from the 2016 incident should be paid by the electronic cigarette companies. 

While Vapor Life is now out of business, lawyers for the plaintiff still “expect to collect every dollar,” believing the company has simply changed its name, Law360 reports. 

Another defendant, distributor EcigRus, LLC, settled before trial, Law360 reports. The e-cig battery was made by Shenzhen Battery Company, Ltd, however, they were not listed as a defendant. 

E-Cig Class Action Lawsuits Mount

This is the latest in a string of lawsuits and class actions brought against vape pen manufacturers and distributors. 

Earlier this year, vape pen manufacturer and retailer Puff Bar was accused of deceptively marketing Puff Plus vapes, claiming the vape pens last for 800 puffs when they really only last hours.

Have you had issues with your e-cig battery malfunctioning? What do you think of the $15 million award in this case? Let us know in the comments! 

Ortega is represented by Bradley J. Edwards, Catherine Davis and Dean Kaire of Edwards Pottinger LLC. 

The Vapor Life E-Cig Battery Explosion Lawsuit is Ortega v. Vapor Life LLC, et al., Case No. 17-0101730-08 in the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• 7-Eleven Hit With Class Action for Allegedly Hiding Harmfulness of JUUL Products
• Juul, Altria Attempt to Exclude Native American Tribes Youth Vaping Claims, While NC Schools Join Litigation
• Investors Ask Court To Compel Former Juul Labs Director To Attend Deposition Over Underage Marketing Allegations
• Juul and Altria Call for Courts to End Investor Class Action Lawsuit