E-Cigarette Explosion In Anaheim Raises Injury Alarms
The e-cigarette industry is under the microscope again, after a southern California man was injured by an exploding nicotine delivery device and it was all caught on camera. The man was shopping at a television store in Anaheim when, without warning, there was a huge explosion coming from his pants. Store surveillance video captured the drama of his e-cigarette battery blowing up in his pocket. Employees thought the commotion came from firecrackers and store manager Antelmo Lara told a local news station, “He burned part of his genitals. It was bad. You could clearly smell burns.”
Rise in E-Cigarette Injuries
Unfortunately, incidents like these are becoming more common because e-cigarettes have batteries that, if they come in contact with other metals or become overheated, can explode and cause injuries. E-cigarettes serve to mimic the smoking experience as users inhale a fluid-based vapor from the plastic or metal device shaped like a cigarette. In order to produce the “smoky” vapor, e-cigarettes use a lithium-ion battery and heating element to vaporize the e-cigarette fluid.
However, these batteries can overheat causing a chain reaction that leads to 
an explosion, sending pieces of shrapnel into the hands, mouths, faces, arms, necks, and hands of users. Pieces of shrapnel can also explode outward, causing injury to others. There are several reasons the battery may overheat, such as a short circuit due to a manufacturing defect.
Batteries may also overheat because of external damage, such as from a punctured battery cell. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, injuries from an exploding e-cigarette can be devastating, raging from broken teeth, blast injuries, chemical burns, flame burns, and mangled or even severed fingers.
E-Cigarette Related Injuries
The lithium-ion batteries in e-cigarettes release hydrofluoric acid that gets absorbed into the skin and can cause disastrous injuries that are not always immediately apparent. These injuries include chemical burns. Tissue toxicity, severe pain, and calcium chemical changes that could cause a heart attack may also occur, in addition to the more well-known first, second, and third-degree thermal burns which continue to burn the skin after the flame is put out.
Because many of these unique injuries are not immediately apparent and worsen over time, those injured should always seek immediate medical attention whenever injured by an e-cigarette.
Legal Proceedings Following an E-Cigarette Injury
In an e-cigarette explosion lawsuit, the person or company responsible for the manufacture or distribution of the dangerous and defective product is often found to be the responsible party. In each case, an investigation is necessary beginning at the point of purchase, usually in the United States. Then the product is traced back to the place of original distribution and manufacture which may be a foreign country such as China. An attorney will be able to evaluate e-cigarette explosion claims and help identify the responsible party for injuries that are sustained.
California Personal Injury Lawyer
At Los Angeles Injury Group, we understand how serious e-cigarette explosions can be. Therefore, we do everything within our power to best assist our clients in getting everything they deserve and we believe our clients should receive compensation for any damages and losses they’ve suffered. If you, or someone you love, received injuries as a result of an e-cigarette explosion or malfunction, give us a call at (310) 954-7248.
