Kelley/Uustal is now representing 21-year-old Evan Spahlinger in a lawsuit targeting the companies that made and sold him the e-cigarette device that severely burned his lungs, throat, mouth, and face in a sudden explosion. The story has received a huge wave of media attention and has been recently featured in the Miami Herald, among other leading news outlets.
This device malfunction has caused the Naples man permanent injury and “unimaginable mental anguish” according to his lawyer, John J. Uustal. Evan has a long road to recovery ahead of him and will require constant care.
A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Spahlinger in Miami-Dade County, alleging that these companies were negligent in properly warning customers of the risks associated with use of e-cigarettes. Currently, there are millions of e-cigarette users around the country, all using products that are made and sold without any regulations.
There have been a number of cases in recent years in which e-cigarettes have caught fire during charging or use. Because of the known fire hazard, the U.S. Department of Transportation has banned e-cigarettes from checked baggage on airplanes.
The device that malfunctioned in Spahlinger’s case was a “Rig Mod V.2” electric cigarette, manufactured by VapeAMP, a San Diego-based company, and purchased in July at Vaping Station in Naples. It was only three months later that the defective device exploded. Neither company have immediately been available for comment and have yet to file a response.
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