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Batteries for vape pens can explode at any time, leading to serious vape pen explosion injuries, including burns, fractured bones, or even death. These explosions caused thousands of emergency room visits over the last few years. Victims of vape battery blasts hold companies responsible for selling defective products, and not educating users about the dangers of vape batteries.
Vape Batteries & Explosions: Dangers to Your Health
Battery safety is not yet regulated on the e-cigarette market, which increases the risk of explosions.
Exploding batteries in vapes can cause serious injuries including:
- Broken bones
- Deep wounds and bleeding
- Loss of teeth and eyes
- Scarring
- Burns that are severe
- Death
The injuries caused by vape battery explosions can be severe and leave lasting scars. However, many victims are now able to receive the compensation and justice they deserve.
Why do vape products use batteries?
The heating coil is powered by a battery. This coil heats the eliquid to produce aerosol (vapor), which is inhaled by ecigarette users.
These batteries are the same ones found in laptops and cell phones. These batteries allow manufacturers to create slim, lightweight products with long-lasting battery life.
Did you know?
The 18650 Lithium-ion Battery was designed for specific devices such as power tools, not e-cigarettes.
Lithium-ion batteries are relatively safe in electronic products like cell phones and laptops. They pose a risk to health when used in unregulated vape devices.
Why do Vape Batteries explode?
When a lithium-ion battery gets too hot, it explodes. The battery’s highly flammable fluid reacts with oxygen and combusts.
What types of injuries are caused by vape battery explosions?
Explosions of vape batteries can result in injuries that range from broken bones, to missing teeth and even blindness.
According to a 2017 report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, battery explosions are often serious because they are close to the body of the user. This is especially true for the face.
Burns
A vape user can suffer severe burns on their body if the battery in his pocket is overheated.
Batteries can also cause burns. According to a 2019 battery injury report from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the majority of burns they examined were caused by a combination of chemical and flame burns.
Vape battery explosions have caused burns on several victims:
- A woman in the San Francisco Bay Area was severely burned on her side and arm after the spare batteries in her vape device caught fire in her purse.
- In 2018, a Florida man was forced to undergo surgery for second and third degree burns he suffered after his vape pen exploded inside his pocket.
- In a case from 2018, a spare vape battery caught fire in a man’s pocket and set him ablaze. The man was taken to hospital with burns of the second and third degree.
Physical Injuries
Vape explosions can cause serious injuries when flying debris from the device breaks. Vapes are frequently kept in sensitive areas such as the groin or face.
Vape batteries that explode can cause physical injury, such as:
- Blindness
- Broken bones
- Cuts and bleeding
- Holes in the tongue and lips
- Loss of teeth
- Scars that last a lifetime
The following are reports of injuries caused by vape explosions:
- In June 2019, a 17-year old boy in Utah suffered a fractured jaw, several teeth that were blown out and a piece of his jawbone which was completely broken after an e-cigarette explosion in his mouth.
- A young Tennessee man was injured by an e-cigarette explosion in April 2019. The pieces of the ecigarette broke several teeth and tore off a part of his facial skin. He required 65 stitches and was incapacitated by his injuries for several weeks.
Vape explosions have caused deaths:
- In 2019, the debris from a vape pen explosion severed an artery in a Texas man’s neck, resulting in a stroke which killed him weeks before his birthday.
- In 2018, a Tampa man was killed by a projectile that shot from the exploding vape pen. The explosion also ignited a fire which burned over 80% his body.
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Medical Treatment for Battery Explosion Injuries
According to a report in Tobacco Control published in 2018, an estimated 2,035 emergency rooms visits between 2015 and 2017 were caused by vape explosions or burns.
Anyone who has been injured by a battery explosion in a vape should consult a physician as soon as they can. Call 911 if the injuries are serious.
Call 911 for an injury caused by a battery explosion.
- Remove the victim from the attacker to avoid further injury.
- Check that the victim is still breathing.
- Stop bleeding as quickly as possible.
- If possible, elevate serious wounds higher than the heart.
- You may notice signs of shock such as pallor, fainting and shallow breathing.
The local hospital might not have the necessary equipment to treat serious injuries caused by battery explosions, such as severe burns, broken bones or loss of body parts. These injuries can require reconstructive surgery, skin grafting or even amputation.
If you have suffered severe injuries from a battery explosion, please seek medical attention at:
- Hospital emergency room
- Trauma center
- Burn unit
For those who have sustained less serious injuries, they can make an appointment with their physician or visit a clinic in the area.
Battery Explosion Lawsuits
The victims of vape battery explosions are now suing to recover compensation for their injuries or the death of loved ones.
Companies that have been sued for involving an explosion of a vape batteries include:
- VGOD The manufacturer of the vape device that caused serious injuries to Tennessee man David Bishop in 2019 was the manufacturer.
- LG chemical: This company is a Korean affiliate of LG Electronics and made the batteries in the Bishop case.
- Samsung SDI : The battery manufacturer was named in a lawsuit filed by a Brownsville resident. A woman in Brownsville suffered severe burns after an explosion from an electronic cigarette.
The U.S. Government and companies have taken steps to prevent these tragedies.
Government response to battery explosions
On August 8, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was given the authority to impose standards and rules on the market for e-cigarettes, including batteries.
In 2017, it announced that it would develop standards to protect batteries from issues.
A 2017 FDA extension gave e-cigarette manufacturers who sold their products before August 8, 2016 until 2022 to meet the regulations of the administration.
The FDA has already released information about e-cigarette safety, and it is encouraging battery explosion victims in particular to report incidents.
Battery Explosions: Company Responses
Many of the biggest e-cigarette manufacturers claim to take safety precautions by testing their products rigorously and incorporating fail-safes into their batteries. However, other brands don’t take these measures.
In 2018, a number of leading battery manufacturers, industry trade groups and vape users launched a campaign called Be-cigarettesafe to warn vape users about the dangers associated with using lithium-ion removable batteries in e-cigarettes.
Legal Assistance for Injuries Caused by Vape Battery Explosions
In order to protect the public, it is hoped that more vape batteries regulations will be introduced as government agencies catch up with the new ecigarette industry.
Battery explosions are still occurring too often, with serious consequences for victims and their loved ones. filing suit may help pay for medical treatment, compensate victims, and hold negligent companies accountable.
We at W. Lee Clark & Associates are available to answer any questions you may have if you’ve been injured by a battery explosion in a vape. To learn more about the legal options available to you, start a case review.
