Recent lithium-ion battery fires cause concern

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.

Lithium-ion battery fires overview: 

• Who: Concerns are being raised over exploding lithium-ion batteries following a rash of incidents — many involving electric micro mobility vehicles — that have led to injury or death.
• Why: Lithium-ion batteries are found in an increasing number of consumer technology products and micro mobility vehicles, but contain flammable materials and can wear down over time and/or or be affected by misuse.
• Where: Nationwide.

A number of recent fires caused by exploding lithium-ion batteries has raised concerns, with the batteries found in a number of popular consumer products and transportation mobiles such as electric transit buses and scooters. 

The rise in scrutiny follows a massive five-alarm fire in New York earlier this month that officials believed was started by an exploding lithium-ion battery in an electric scooter that was on top of an apartment building, CNN reports. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), meanwhile, issued a call late last year for manufacturers of e-scooters, hoverboards, e-bicycles and e-unicycles to review their product lines to ensure they comply with voluntary safety standards. 

The CPSC said it received as many as 208 reports of fires from 39 states that were related to fires or “overheating incidents” caused by micro-mobility vehicles — resulting in at least 19 deaths — between 2021 and 2021.

NYFD responded to more than 200 fires caused by electric scooters, e-bikes last year

In New York alone, the New York City Fire Department responded to more than 200 fires caused by electric scooters and e-bikes last year, with the incidents resulting in a total of six fatalities, according to UL Research Institutes. 

Other notable recent fires believed to be caused by exploding lithium-ion batteries include an electronic transit bus in Connecticut in July 2022 and a New York City apartment fire in August 2022 that killed a woman and a child, NBC News reports. 

Lithium-ion batteries have become an increasingly popular way to power consumer technology products — such as cameras, laptops, smartphones — however they also contain flammable materials and can suffer from aging or misuse, according to CNN. 

“Lithium batteries are generally safe and unlikely to fail, but only so long as there are no defects and the batteries are not damaged or mistreated,” the Occupational Safety and Health Administration wrote, in a 2019 safety and health information bulletin.

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against HP Inc. in October, arguing the company sold HP laptops allegedly containing defective lithium-ion batteries that negatively affected the battery life of the device. 

Have you been affected by a fire caused by an exploding lithium-ion battery? Let us know in the comments.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• HP class action alleges lithium ion batteries in laptops contain defects
• Athletes sue 8 Ivy League universities in class action over illegal price-fixing scheme
• Wilsons Leather class action alleges company uses false reference pricing to entice sales
• FDA instructs baby formula companies to inform it of bacteria discoveries