Colorado Sees Shocking Increase in E-Cigarette Explosions

A recent investigation by Denver7 has shown that there has been an alarming spike in the number of incidents in the state of Colorado involving e-cigarette explosions. Denver7 combed through public records, court filings, Internet reports and fire response records to track these incidents.

They found that just in Colorado last year, there were 16 cases at the University of Colorado Hospital burn center, seven at Swedish Medical Center, two at Denver International Airport, two in Telluride, three in Colorado Springs and one in Greeley. If you add that up, it’s 34 e-cig battery explosions in Colorado in 2016, with 27 of those incidents involving injuries.

Doctors at Colorado burn centers are saying they’ve seen a spike in e-cigarette explosions recently and that they are worried about it. They say they didn’t observe this trend two years ago and that it is a fairly recent phenomenon. At the UCHealth Burn Center doctors said they’ve taken care of two patients who were smoking the device when it blew up. They ended up with injuries to their face and eyes, the doctors said.

Horror Stories about Explosions

Another man said he was walking into a Home Depot store when the e-cigarette in his pocket suddenly blew up in a ball of fire. This is a common tale that is being told across the nation, by scores of people who have put the devices in their pockets only to have them explode and cause severe burn injuries. And they say, it all happens so quickly, within a second or two.

E-cigarette users say the products don’t come with any warnings that the batteries could potentially explode. While stores that sell e-cigarettes basically dismiss the explosions and attribute them to careless consumers who put their batteries in pockets with spare change or car keys, a hard look at the individual cases would show otherwise. Many have reported that they had nothing else in their pockets when the device or the battery exploded.

If You Have Been Injured

The culprits in these explosive incidents are the lithium-ion batteries that power the devices. When they are manufactured without proper quality control measures or with substandard parts, there is the danger of an explosion. Increasingly, we are finding that these dangerous and defective batteries are making their way into the market, and consumers are paying the price.

If you have been injured in an e-cigarette explosion, you may have a product liability case against the manufacturer, retailer, distributor or other parties involved. You may be able to seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, lost wages, hospitalization, cost of surgery, permanent injuries (scarring, disfigurement), pain and suffering and emotional distress. An experienced product defect lawyer can help you better understand your legal rights and options.