Exploding E-Cigarette Batteries Cause Serious Injuries, Disfigurement

As time goes by, more and more e-cigarette users are reporting serious injuries caused by exploding e-cigarette batteries in their devices.

E-Cigarette Background

E-cigarettes are substitutes for the standard cigarette, and are used for the more direct intake of nicotine, without needing to light a cigarette.

The device creators of e-cigarettes obtained a patent for their creation in 2003, and they have been available to the U.S. public since 2007. Since being released onto the market, e-cigarettes have grown in popularity, and the practice of smoking e-cigarettes rather than the conventional cigarette has become fairly widespread.

Manufacturers of e-cigarettes claim that their products are safer than other forms of smoking. Some even market these devices as a sort of in-between device for cigarette smokers looking to quit, as if using an e-cigarette can help wean them off smoking.

Despite these many claims about safety and health benefits, the long-term effects of e-cigarettes cannot actually be known at this point, given their relatively short time spent on the market.

Also despite the claims about the safety of these products, a growing number of e-cigarette users are filing lawsuits against device manufacturers because of exploding e-cigarette batteries and the resultant injuries.

Lawsuits allege that the lithium-ion exploding e-cigarette batteries can be triggered during normal device use, or even when they’re being charged.

Statistically, problems with exploding e-cigarette batteries are more likely to occur while the device is being charged: 80 percent of fires from exploding e-cigarette batteries occur while charging in a USB port.

According to reports, certain USB ports put out a higher voltage and current, which in certain cases can cause overheating in the device and result in exploding e-cigarette batteries, endangering consumers.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), exploding e-cigarette batteries aren’t small sparks or flames, but are actually explosions that can cause extreme and even disfiguring injuries to consumers.

A Florida e-cigarette user suffered from an exploding device incident that shattered many of his teeth and even blew up part of his tongue. A California bus rider had a device explode in his pocket in 2016, causing third degree burns. An Idaho man suffered second degree burns and lost teeth in January of this year.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has documented 130 incidents involving exploding e-cigarette batteries.

Dozens of lawsuits over exploding e-cigarette batteries are currently pending in the court system. Lawsuits allege that retailers and manufacturers failed to adequately warn consumers about the dangers of the lithium-ion batteries in these devices.

One major concern with these devices is that they are becoming quite popular with younger consumers, including middle school and high school children. The CDC reports that between 2011 and 2015, the use of e-cigarettes by high school students increased by a whopping 900 percent.

If you or someone you love has suffered from exploding e-cigarette batteries, you may be able to file an e-cigarette injury lawsuit against the device’s manufacturer.