Press release as it appears in Cision, PR Newswire
DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — LG Chem manufactures defective lithium-ion batteries that can spontaneously explode, alleges a lawsuit filed on behalf of a North Carolina man who suffered severe burns after a battery he bought for his vaping device exploded in his pocket.
The lawsuit was filed against LG Chem in North Carolina Superior Court on January 28, 2019 by Paynter Law on behalf of a North Carolina resident—a longtime smoker who, seeking a healthier and safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, turned to “vaping” in 2011, unaware there was any danger related to the lithium-ion batteries used in many vaping devices (also known as “e-cigarettes”). According to the Plaintiff, the defective battery exploded in his pants pocket, sending flames and burning chemicals up and down his leg and causing severe burns.
LG Chem, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate LG, manufactures 18650s, a cylindrical format lithium-ion battery slightly larger than a AA battery. 18650 batteries are used in a variety of consumer products, from power tools to electric vehicles to vaping devices. The lawsuit alleges that LG Chem knows that its 18650s will be used by consumers for vaping, which means the batteries will be used and stored in dangerously close proximity to the human body. Indeed, this fact led the U.S. Fire Administration to issue a report in 2017 finding that “lithium-ion batteries should not be used in e-cigarettes” due to the “catastrophic nature of the injuries that can occur.”
The lawsuit alleges that LG Chem failed to warn consumers about the risk of such explosions, despite knowing that battery explosions can be catastrophic to e-cigarette users. In addition, the suit alleges that LG Chem was negligent in manufacturing its 18650s, and that a manufacturing defect caused the battery to suffer an internal short circuit and explode, generating temperatures of 1000 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
The lead attorneys for the Plaintiff are Stuart M. Paynter, Celeste Boyd, David Larson, and Sara Willingham.
About Paynter Law:
With offices in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina, Paynter Law is devoted to protecting the rights of victims of fraud, malpractice and negligence, with a focus on high-stakes personal injury litigation, complex commercial cases, intellectual property disputes, and antitrust litigation. More about the firm’s e-cigarette and lithium battery litigation practice can be found at https://paynterlaw.wpengine.com/lithium-ion-battery-injury.
SOURCE Paynter Law