Jury Awards $1.8 Million to Vapor Cig Burn Victim

The current Hookah Ego Batteries produced by VapCigs. Courtesy photo

By City News Service

A woman burned when her e-cigarette battery exploded was awarded $1.88 million Wednesday by a Riverside jury in her lawsuit against the device manufacturer and supplier, her attorney said.

Jennifer Ries and her husband sued VapCigs owner Behnam Zolghadr and the Mellow Dragon Corp. in 2013 on the basis of product liability claims, negligence, loss of income and emotional harm.

Following a six-day trial before Riverside County Superior Court Judge David Ottolia, jurors found in the plaintiffs’ favor, according to the couple’s attorney, Greg Bentley.

“This industry is unregulated and remains ripe for disaster,” he said. “Sadly, the industry’s carelessness struck Jennifer and changed her life forever. We are thankful for the jury’s verdict and hope it will jolt the industry to take steps to ensure and test that these products are safe for consumers before they are placed on the market.”

Zolghadr’s attorney and the Mellow Dragon’s legal counsel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to their court papers, Jennifer and Xavier Ries were heading to Los Angeles International Airport on March 25, 2013, to board a flight for Brazil, where they intended to carry out advocacy work for a nonprofit organization.

Shortly after plugging in her electronic cigarette battery, it blew up, igniting a small fire that quickly spread to her dress, according to the plaintiffs. The woman’s husband tossed his iced coffee onto the flames, dousing them, and they drove to a nearby urgent care facility, where burn injuries on her thighs, buttocks and left hand were cleaned and dressed, according to the plaintiffs.

They missed their flight, and the following day went to the regional burn clinic at UC Irvine Medical Center, where further treatment was administered.

According to the complaint, Jennifer Ries required follow-up treatments and a long-term regimen of pain medication, but is “physically and emotionally scarred from the burns.”

“Due to her continued pain, she is unable to sit for long periods of time (and) remains permanently disfigured from the second-degree burns and will likely require surgical intervention in order to diminish scarring,” the suit says.

The plaintiffs alleged that the E-Hookah E-Cigarette Starter Kit produced by Corona-based VapCigs was defective. The device is considered an alternative to tobacco cigarettes, providing users a sensation of smoking with “inhaled doses of nicotine” from a vaporized solution. But only mist is exhaled -- not smoke.

Ries purchased the product from the Tobacco Expo in Corona, which is owned by Mellow Dragon Corp.