Vape exploding in pocket

During a shopping trip, Robert Kane noticed his jeans ‘started fizzing and sparking like a firework’ after his e-cig battery blew up in his pocket and melted the skin on his leg.

He was rushed to the hospital where he was given a warm shower to remove the battery acid, peel off the scorched skin and then given cream and bandages to help heal the wounds.

Robert had taken up vaping in 2019 after government advice promoted it as a healthy alternative to smoking.

As he didn’t trust buying them online, he visited a local vape shop where the store worker set it up for him and attached the battery.

However, he wasn’t given any safety advice on how to store his e-cigarette or batteries.

Angry about how he had been left with permanent scars on his leg, he approached Express Solicitors to issue a claim against the vape shop.

Working closely with Catherine Citron, Partner in our Occupiers’ and Public Liability team, Robert was successful in his case and won over £20,000 in compensation.

Speaking about his accident, he said: “It was horrific, like I had been in a fireball. The nurses were peeling off my skin. It had burnt so deep you could see my muscles. It was 11 out of 10 pain, indescribable.

“People need to know how dangerous e-cigarettes are. It all happened in a flash. The pain was incredible like my leg had been put in an oven.”

He is now incredibly cautious of anyone vaping near him and is petrified of battery banks in supermarkets – where shoppers discard old batteries including vape and e-cig batteries.

Catherine added: “Robert was trying to be healthier by not smoking tobacco and now has been left with a badly scarred leg for life.

“His injuries were horrific and not what you expect to happen from a shop-bought e-cigarette battery. Anyone injured in similar circumstances could now make a claim.

“Any premises selling e-cigarettes or vapes need to give appropriate safety advice.”

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