Exploding Mods and False Claims
Salacious stories of ecigs exploding mean good business for lawyers and newspapers, but encourage the public to lie.
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by Dave Cross
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“Margate man treated for burn injuries after e-cig bursts into flames,” says Kentonline.co.uk, as another person ignores safety advice. It is a restrained account of events featuring the same warnings from a local fire official, telling people the usual things about charging unsupervised and following warnings supplied with the product.
Get a similar story into a national tabloid and the language quickly changes. “Family nearly killed in major house fire,” shouts The Sun - about an incident where no one was even injured. It was caused by a “15-year-old boy's” device that “exploded”. The article is peppered with emotive terms and graphic pictures, but nothing to match some of the similar coverage in America.
America, home to the services of Lipsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman, representing Lipsig Lawyers. The company has taken to issuing press releases on an increasingly frequent basis where they caution against all manner of ecig-related accidents in the hope they can pick up a lucrative case.
They “are working to ensure that those who have been injured by the devices are able to explore their legal rights fully. Certain individuals may be entitled to significant financial compensation. Attorney Freund is currently offering free consultations to anyone who has been injured by the devices.”
In another communiqué they detail how Jennifer Ries has netted a $1.9million result and that one of the partners in the law firm “greatly encourages anyone who feels that they have been an e-cigarette explosion victim to investigate their full legal options in the matter. These individuals may be entitled to substantial compensation gained through legal action.”
Maybe they ought to tell the world about Breanne Court too? Ms Court contacted a Milwaukee vape store, demanding $4,500 to cover the cost of damage caused by one of their products to her rented home. But something didn’t seem right to them. The company reported her to the police who, upon investigation, discovered that not only had she not had an incident but didn’t live in a rental property either.
With lawyers keen to create new lawsuits and newspapers looking for sensational stories to sell copies, is it any wonder that the woman believed she could get away with a work of fiction?
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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