One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
E-Cigarette Battery Explodes In Car, Couple Sues
A woman who suffered second-degree burns after her e-cigarette battery exploded in her car compared the resulting fire to a blowtorch.
Jennifer Ries and her husband, Xavier, of Corona, Calif. are suing the e-cigarette manufacturer VapCigs after its rechargeable battery caught fire. They were on their way to the Los Angeles International Airport for a volunteer trip to South America back in March, she told CBS News.
She was charging a VapCigs e-cigarette when her husband thought he smelled nail polish remover. "I looked around and I saw the battery to the (e-cigarette) dripping," Ries said. "I went to unscrew it and the battery started shooting fire toward me and then exploded and shot the metal pieces onto my lap."
Her cotton dress caught fire said Ries, "I got severe second-degree burns on both the back of my upper thighs and my lower buttocks."
She described the battery's malfunction as "a blowtorch type of fire and then an explosion." Her quick-thinking husband pulled the car over into the emergency lane and threw a cup of coffee on her to put the fire out.
Ries said she's still visiting doctors at UC Irvine Health Regional Burn Center.
Gregory Bentley is representing the Ries' in a lawsuit against Benham Zolgdahr, the retailer, and Corona-based VapCigs. He said that the new product is not being properly regulated.
Sponsored message
"Right now, at least how it stands, the FDA is regulating this whole industry as a tobacco product, so all of the component parts, including the battery, the charger, and so on, are not tested for safety," the lawyer told CBS.
"The more this goes on without being regulated, the more it's going to happen," said Ries.
So far e-cigs have been linked to explosions in Florida, Oklahoma City and Muskogee.
Related:
Unregulated, Addictive, And Enticing: E-Cigarettes Suck In Smokers But Risks Remain
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
