An American suffered serious burns in e-cig battery explosion

Last March, an American e-cig user held a lawsuit against Amazon, LG Electronics, and KMG-Imports. The reason? The user suffered extensive burns after the explosion of his electronic cigarette battery.  If the suit goes through, major damages could be awarded to the American e-cig enthusiast.

Kyle Melone, a resident of Rhode Island in the Providence county, was the victim of an e-cig battery explosion. He was driving his car when both lithium batteries in the device overheated anc caught fire. Trying to take the e-cigarette from his pocket caused major burns to both his hand and thigh.

The device, branded Pioneer4You, worked with rechargeable LG HG2 18650 batteries. The second-degree burns the man suffered led to three days in intensive care Kyle Melone is now suing the manufacturer LG Electronics and also Amazon for negligence and selling a defective product.

 

 Determining responsibility

A number of complaints were made in 2014 in the USA for lithium battery overheating which caused combustion. The Department of Transport as a result established new regulations forbidding the storage of these batteries on airlines.

Amazon, LG Electronics and KMG-Imports are accused of being jointly responsible for the material involved in the accident. The suit could conclude with a hefty sum being awarded to the plaintiff. The online retail giant has not yet issued a statement regarding the legal proceedings.

LG Electronics are currently shifting blame onto the South Korean company LG Chem, who manufacture the batteries. Another similar incident was associated with LG Chem in the past. Whatever the result, this lawsuit could help determine liability for future incidents of this kind.