A woman from California was awarded about $2 million Wednesday from a jury in a product liability suit after she was severely burned when her e-cigarette exploded, according to her lawyer, the Associated Press reported.
The incident took place in March 2013 when Jennifer Ries and her husband Xavier Ries were en route to the airport to catch a flight to Rio de Janeiro, where they intended to start a community center for slum children, when she connected her VapCigs electronic cigarette charger.
As soon as Jennifer plugged the device in, it started spewing hot metal that set her dress on fire, said attorney Gregory Bentley.
Xavier immediately threw an iced coffee on her in an attempt to extinguish the flames, but she was permanently scarred after suffering second-degree burns on her buttocks, thighs and hand, her lawsuit states.
The jury at Riverside Superior Court announced the verdict against VapCigs and awarded Jennifer $1.9 million in damages after a trail that lasted six days.
"If you're going to place a product in the marketplace, you have to make sure it's safe for the consumer," Bentley said, according to The International Business Times. "If you don't, you're at your own peril."
The suit comes after an incident earlier this month in which a 23-year-old Florida burned his cornea, hand and fractured his neck and finger after an e-cigarette blasted, according to Fox 5.
