Kansas City E-Cig Explosions Lawyer
In the last few years there have been many injuries in Missouri and across the country from exploding e-cigarettes and vape pens. This is due to a faulty battery or charging mechanism. It is possible that some of these injuries can lead to permanent damage to your hands, face and neck. If so, contact a Kansas City E-Cig Explosions Lawyer for legal help.
Siro Smith Dickson is now working with the San Francisco law firm of Levin Simes to investigate serious injuries caused by exploding eCigs, and their lithium ion batteries. Levin Simes already represents multiple e-cig battery explosion clients and is investigating new claims of failed devices or batteries.
E-Cig Battery Explosions:
E-Cigarettes, or e-cigs, are a relatively new consumer product designed to replace traditional cigarettes. The devices are battery-operated vaporizers. Using an e-cigarette is known as “vaping.” The devices are tobacco-free but contain and vaporize nicotine. The products are frequently marketed as smoking cessation devices or as a “healthier” alternative to traditional smoking.
Recently many news reports have come out indicating the design of e-cigarettes, in particular, “mechanical mod” devices, can result in batteries that catch on fire or explode. As e-cigs are a personal electronic device, this failure can result in serious personal injury, especially if the explosion occurs during use.
E-Cig construction:
An e-cig is made of these parts:
- Mouthpiece
- Cartridge (tank)
- Heating element (atomizer)
- Microprocessor [in digital devices]
- Mechanical switch [in mechanical devices]
- Battery
- LED Light [for effect]
E-Cig or Mod Vape Battery explosions:
An e-cig or mod vape battery, like all batteries, has limits on the temperature it can withstand or the power that can be safely drawn from the device. A device can be poorly constructed and more prone to failure, or be designed in a way that makes eventual failures highly likely. Typically e-cig batteries are lithium-ion (Li-On) batteries, which will catch fire or explode if improperly used.
Faulty design by e-cig manufacturers can result in battery usage that exceeds the limitations of the battery, leading to catastrophic failures. These failures can be the result of overcharging, prolonged usage, battery replacement or changes in components, or even from heat from direct sunlight. Once the battery overheats, it can quickly cause a chain reaction that leads to ignition, explosion or leakage of superheated liquid. If a lithium-ion battery catches fire in your pocket, it can cause serious burns to your body. If a lithium-ion battery explodes in your hand or mouth, the damage can be catastrophic or even fatal.
The attorneys at Siro Smith Dickson PC are experienced in the laws around these failures. You can trust our Kansas City E-Cig Explosions Lawyer to help you if you have been injured in an E-Cig battery failure.
E-Cig Battery failure:
Despite being marketed as safer for consumers than traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vaporizer kits powered by batteries can fail and explode or catch fire. Manufacturers and distributors have made some of the following recommendations to avoid a battery explosion:
- Do not leave the battery unattended while charging it
- Do not overcharge the battery
- Do not allow prolonged undercharged states
- Test and replace batteries that have low resting voltage using a multimeter
- Test and replace coils and atomizers regularly
- Test mechanical mod devices for power draw
- Test charging devices to ensure they are compatible with the battery
- Do not short circuit the battery within the device
- Do not let batteries touch each other or other metal surfaces
- Do not mix-and-match chargers and e-cigarette devices
- Calculate the batteries’ capacity in milli-Ampere-hours (“mAh”)
- Calculate the maximum discharge rate in Coulombs (the “C-rate”)
- Calculate the discharge rate of the mechanical mod
- Ensure the tested discharge rate is lower than the battery maximum discharge rate
If this list seems unreasonable for the average consumer to manage, you have just learned why e-cig vaporizers are so dangerous. Most consumers are not engineers. Manufacturers of consumer products have engineers in their factories who are supposed to make these kinds of calculations to ensure a device is safe enough for the average consumer. Yet any error in the above list of steps, or other failures including poorly designed components, can result in a battery fire or explosion.
Popular e-cig vaporizer brands:
- Aspire
- CloudCig
- eLeaf
- JoyeTech
- Innokin
- KangerTech
- Pioneer4You
- Sigelei
- SMOKTech
- Tobeco
- USA Made Mods
Popular eCig batteries:
- AW IMR
- Efest IMR
- EH IMR
- MNKE IMR
- Samsung ICR INR
- Sony
- Trustfire IMR
- Panasonic
- Orbtronic
What Everyone Ought to Know About E-Cigarettes
Contact Our Kansas City E-Cig Explosions Lawyer Right Away
If you or a loved one have been injured by an eCig or any lithium-ion battery product, please contact Rik Siro.
If you’ve been injured by an exploding e-cig contact our accident injury lawyers for a free consultation. You may be entitled to compensation, including medical bills and time off work. Call 1-816-471-4881 for help.