Georgetown E-Cigarettes Lawyer
To most people, e-anything (e-mail, e-fax, e-commerce) means the activity is harmless and convenient. Tobacco and other companies gave this label to their non-combustible cigarettes, hoping people would make the same association. E-cigarettes, though they may be convenient, are certainly not safe. As outlined below, these products often cause sudden injuries and long-term diseases. In these situations, the Georgetown e-cigarettes lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can obtain substantial compensation for victims and survivors.
Most of these claims eventually settle out of court. However, “eventually” could be a very long time, especially in a complex product defect case. Special procedural rules usually apply to e-cigarette and other mass tort cases. Generally, officials consolidate these cases in a single court for pretrial purposes. Then, after these extensive proceedings end, if a case has not settled, the case returns to its home jurisdiction where, in effect, the process begins all over again. Complicating matters even further, most tobacco companies and other e-cigarette makers are multinational conglomerates which have huge financial resources.
Georgetown E-Cigarettes Lawyers and Defective Product Claims
Many e-cigarettes resemble combustion cigarettes. They’re small and have 2W batteries. Other, more popular e-cigarettes are roughly the size of a small tape recorder. These larger models have powerful 50W batteries.
After just a few minutes of continuous use, the oversize battery starts overheating. The thin, uninsulated housing simply cannot absorb that sudden excessive heat. As a result, many e-cigarettes suddenly explode, either inside a person’s mouth or while stored in a purse or pocket. Even worse, as a “safety measure,” some models eject overheated batteries in such situations, transforming them into small, superheated missiles.
Additionally, many of these products are customizable, both by consumers and at factories. Therefore, victims could inadvertently transform safe products into dangerous ones. Factory customization doesn’t account for different parts manufactured to different specifications in different places.
Long-Term Disease Claims
These products are safer than combustion cigarettes, but e-cigarettes are certainly not safe. The chemical liquid always contains high amounts of dangerous chemicals, such as:
- Nicotine (a highly addictive substance that negatively affects adolescent brain development),
- Propylene glycol (which is used to make antifreeze, paint solvent, and artificial smoke in fog machines),
- Carcinogens (chemicals known to cause cancer, including acetaldehyde and formaldehyde),
- Acrolein (a weed killer that causes irreversible lung damage),
- Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead,
- Cadmium (a toxic metal found in traditional cigarettes that causes breathing problems and disease)
- Benzene and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in car exhaust, and
- Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs.
These chemicals are particularly unsafe if the victim drinks them straight from the cartridge. Compensation is usually still available in these situations. Drinking the liquid is a foreseeable product misuse, like tilting a vending machine, that doesn’t affect strict liability.
Rely on a Savvy Georgetown County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Georgetown e-cigarettes lawyer, contact the Stanley Law Group. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
