Vape Pen Explodes, Kills St. Petersburg Man

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on May 21, 2018

Vape pens or E-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among people looking to quit cigarettes or just looking to fill their mouths and lungs with billowing plumes of scented white smoke. The various health hazards or concerns with these devices is not well documented, and little testing has been done on their long term safety for users as well as for those breathing in the pungent vapor second hand. This past Tuesday, however, a report issued by the Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner in St. Petersburg brought up a fresh concern around these popular objects.

On May 5th, a 38-year-old St. Petersburg man was using his vape pen inside of his home. It is not clear if the man was alone at the time or if there were others in the house, but the report made clear that at some point during the day the vape cigarette being used by the man exploded.

The force of this explosion was so great that it thrust several sizable pieces of the pen directly into the man’s head. A fire also broke out due to the explosion, and this quickly began to consume the house as well as 80 percent of the victims body. It is not known who called the police, but firefighters working within St. Petersburg arrived to find the house already beginning to burn. The emergency teams rushed into the home and found the man, but the injuries he had sustained due to the explosion were too great for any hope of recovery.

The report did not indicate whether or not the man was dead when the firefighters found him or if he was transported to an area hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

The vape pen was designed and manufactured by a company called Smok-E Mountain, and it is not clear if they have issued any statements regarding the tragic incident. Investigators from the Food and Drug Administration have begun looking into the incident, but their current findings are not conclusive, and the only theory that they have felt confident in projecting is that the explosion was due to an issue with the vape pen’s battery.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.