Hazel Dell e-cigarette business faces suit

A 19-year-old former Vancouver man is filing a lawsuit against a Hazel Dell electronic cigarette business after, he claims, a device purchased at the store exploded in his pocket, causing severe burns. He is among four people who filed lawsuits in Washington courts Thursday against e-cigarette manufacturers and sellers.

Dontae Gardner was walking across a Vancouver street on Feb. 26, headed to a friend’s house, when his e-cigarette device exploded in his right front pant pocket, according to court documents. Gardner’s pants caught on fire, causing second- and third-degree burns from the top of his right thigh to his kneecap. The injuries required skin-graft surgery, which Gardner underwent on March 14, according to the documents.

Gardner claims in the lawsuit, which was filed in Clark County Superior Court on Thursday afternoon, that he purchased the device from Fatboy Vapors, 9230 N.E. Highway 99, Suite A110. Fatboy Vapors also operates stores in Vancouver, Battle Ground and Gresham, Ore., as well as three stores in Alaska.

Gardner, who now lives in Scappoose, Ore., and the three others from across Washington — Sidney Hayes, 23, of Kelso; Olaf Eriksen, 40, of Seattle; and Marlene Rubertt, 45, of Spokane — are being represented by Seattle attorney James S. Rogers and Irvine, Calif., attorney Gregory Bentley, who has litigated defective e-cigarette cases across the country.

“These products are defective and dangerous,” Rogers said in a news release announcing the lawsuits. “Ironically, many of the victims switch to e-cigarettes because they think it is safer and healthier than traditional cigarettes. But the explosions often cause injuries that require painful skin and bone-graft surgeries — leaving victims traumatized, missing work, and with long recoveries.”

Lithium-ion batteries have an inherent risk of fire and explosion that is dramatically increased when combined with an e-cigarette’s heating element and cylindrical shape, the attorneys said. Weak regulation and the lack of testing requirements leave safety protections up to electronic cigarette manufacturers, they said.

“The rush to market and push for profits has resulted in a dangerous, defective product that has injured consumers across the country,” Bentley said in the news release.

Gardner, who grew up in Vancouver, received medical care at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center after the e-cigarette battery exploded in his pocket, according to court documents. The skin graft procedure took place at the Legacy Oregon Burn Center in Portland.

Following the incident, Gardner had to resign from his position in the warehouse at Columbia Sportswear due to the physical demands of his job, and could walk only short distances until mid-April, according to court documents.

The lawsuit seeks damages for pain and suffering, medical care and lost earnings, among others, all to be determined at trial.