In New Jersey, if a person is injured by an exploding vape or a vape that catches on fire, the manufacturer, distributor and or the entity that sold the vape can be held responsible for the products defectiveness under New Jersey law. A vape injury lawsuit is typically filed pursuant to New Jersey’s Product Liability Law which holds a manufacturer and distributor responsible for a defective product that causes injury to a consumer. The product liability law in New Jersey offers significant protection to those who are injured as a result of a vape that has caught fire.
Vape Injuries
The most common type of vape injury is a burn injury. The burn injury is caused by the vape either exploding or catching fire and subsequently burning the person who was using it. In New Jersey, burn victims can recover for their pain and suffering, lost wages, medical bills, and future medical bills. Burn injuries from a vape can be severe and can cause significant burning, scaring, and lifelong pain and suffering. Additionally, in many circumstances, extensive future medical treatment may be necessary to help the skin heal and improve the appearance of the burn. All of these damages may be recoverable against the manufacturer or distributor of a vape if that manufacturer or distributor violated the New Jersey Products Liability Act of New Jersey common law.
Vape Lawsuit
As set forth above, most vape injury lawsuits are brought under New Jersey’s Product Liability Act. The product liability act covers a wide variety of products including vapes and the batteries that are in the vapes. Under the Products Liability Act, a company who designed, manufactured and/or placed into the stream of commerce a defective vape which was not reasonably fit, suitable or safe for its intended purpose can be held reasonable if someone is hurt as a result of the use of the product.
Additionally, a defendant who defectively designed; defectively manufactured; and/or did not have adequate warnings or instructions with respect to the use of their products, can be held reasonable under New Jersey law for a vape injury.
Strict Liability Vape Lawsuit
As set forth above, vape lawsuits are typically filed pursuant to the New Jersey Products Liability Act. Under the products liability act, a legal theory of strict liability is usually alleged by the injured person. Under the New Jersey Products Liability Act, N.J.S. 2A:58C-1, et seq., a defendant can be held to be strictly liable for any injuries. Strict liability essentially means that a manufacturer and or distributor can be held responsible for any injuries or damages without proof that they knew about the potential dangers or disregarded a known risk about the dangers. In sum, regardless of their specific knowledge about the product or potential injuries, they are held responsible for their dangerous products that hurt someone.
Vape Lawsuits for Violating Warranties
Under New Jersey law, the manufacturer and distributor of a vape product can also be held liable for violating the express or implied warranties of their products. Warranties don’t necessarily refer to a typical warranty on a product that states a manufacturer will replace the product if it malfunctions. Warranties in this sense refer to the express and implied warranty that the manufacturer or distributor demonstrates to the public by way of selling the product. By selling a product, the manufacturer or distributor of that the product is warrantying that the product is safe to use and will not cause severe harm if used properly. In other words, a manufacturer or distributor by selling a product, represents to the public that the product is safe. When that product is not safe, and the manufacturer or distributor either carelessly, negligently, or recklessly manufactured, distributed, or sold the product anyway, they can be held liable for the any resulting injuries.
Punitive Damages for Vape Injuries
Punitive damages are damages that are found against the distributor and or manufacturer of a product if that distributor and or manufacturer of a product acted with actual malice and/or with wanton and willful disregard to the consequences, when they placed into the stream of commerce their products which were not reasonably fit, suitable, or safe for their intended purpose. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the manufacturer or distributor for their wrongdoing. Therefore, punitive damages are awarded to deter future bad conduct by manufacturers and distributors of products. In some instances, depending on the harm caused, punitive damages can amount to millions of dollars. These large awards help keep the public safe by deterring future bad conduct.
Contact WeCanHelp.law
If you or someone you know has suffered an injury as a result of an exploding vape or a vape that has caught on fire, contact our law firm. Our lawyers will take the time to discuss all of your potential causes of actions and who may be held reasonable for the vape injury. Like all other personal injury cases at our firm, we handle vape injury lawsuits on a contingency fee basis. This means that you will only pay a legal fee if we successfully recover monetary damages on your behalf. Contact us today. Consultations are completely free.
