E-Cigarette Explosions in Georgia: Vape Battery Injuries and Product Liability

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When a vape device overheats, catches fire, or explodes and injures the person carrying or using it, the claim begins with who can be sued and on what theory. Georgia’s product statute answers differently for a manufacturer and for a product seller. The manufacturer answers in strict liability for a device that was not merchantable and reasonably suited to its intended use when sold, while a seller is not treated as a manufacturer in a strict-liability action. A vape claim therefore turns on identifying the maker, on whether a Georgia court can reach the maker, and on which other theories remain open against the seller.

What Is Known About Why Vape Batteries Fail

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that the exact causes of vape fires and explosions are not yet clear, although some evidence suggests that problems with the battery may be a cause. Among other precautions, its consumer guidance advises storing loose vape batteries in a case away from metal objects, not charging a vape overnight, and charging it on a clean, flat surface away from anything that can easily catch fire (FDA, “Tips to Help Avoid Vape Battery Fires or Explosions,” content current as of Apr. 12, 2024). Because the cause of a particular failure is an open question, a claim depends on expert proof of why that device failed.

The Manufacturer and the Product Seller

The manufacturer of personal property sold as new, whether directly or through a dealer or anyone else, is liable in tort, regardless of privity, to a natural person injured because the property was not merchantable and reasonably suited to its intended use when the manufacturer sold it, if the property’s condition at that time proximately caused the injury (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1)).

The seller is treated differently. Under OCGA 51-1-11.1(a), a “product seller” is a business that, among other things, sells and distributes, installs, packages, labels, markets, repairs, or maintains a product, or assembles it to a manufacturer’s design, or otherwise takes part in putting it into the stream of commerce; a manufacturer that also does some of those things does not become a product seller. In a product liability action based in whole or in part on strict liability, a product seller is not a manufacturer under OCGA 51-1-11 and is not liable as one (OCGA 51-1-11.1(b)). Subsection (c) adds that the section neither creates a cause of action, in strict liability or on any other theory, nor alters anyone’s right to indemnity or contribution.

When the Maker Is Unidentified or Overseas

Two provisions matter when the maker cannot be identified or sued in Georgia. First, a manufacturer cannot be held liable for a defective product on market-share, enterprise, or other industry-wide theories (OCGA 51-1-11(d)), which leaves the claimant to identify the company that made the device.

Second, personal jurisdiction. A Georgia court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident, as to a claim arising from the listed acts, if the nonresident transacts any business in Georgia, or causes a tortious injury in Georgia by an act or omission outside the state while regularly doing or soliciting business, engaging in another persistent course of conduct, or deriving substantial revenue from goods used or consumed in Georgia (OCGA 9-10-91(1), (3)).

Defect Theories

The Supreme Court of Georgia sorts product defects into three general groups, manufacturing defects, design defects, and marketing or packaging defects, and it judges a design by weighing the risks inherent in it against the utility or benefit of the product (Banks v. ICI Americas, Inc., 264 Ga. 732 (1994)). A manufacturer’s duty to warn arises when it knows or reasonably should know of a danger in the use of its product (Chrysler Corp. v. Batten, 264 Ga. 723 (1994)).

Claims Against a Seller Outside Strict Liability

OCGA 51-1-11.1(b) is limited by its terms to strict liability in tort, and other theories rest on other text. Ordinary negligence measures conduct against the care that ordinarily prudent persons use under the same or similar circumstances (OCGA 51-1-2). A merchant seller of goods of that kind impliedly warrants that they are merchantable, which at a minimum means fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used (OCGA 11-2-314(1), (2)(c)), and a buyer who discovers a breach must notify the seller within a reasonable time or be barred from any remedy (OCGA 11-2-607(3)(a)).

Repose and the Injury Deadline

Two clocks run. The injury claim must be filed within two years after the right of action accrues (OCGA 9-3-33). Separately, a strict-liability action cannot be brought more than ten years after the device was first sold for use or consumption (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(2)). Subsection (c) extends that ten-year bar to negligence claims against the manufacturer, except claims for negligent manufacture of products that cause a disease or birth defect and claims arising from willful, reckless, or wanton disregard for life or property, and it leaves the duty to warn of a danger in place once the manufacturer learns of it (OCGA 51-1-11(c)).

For example, imagine a device first sold in August 2021 whose cell fails in February 2026. If the right of action accrued on the injury date, the two-year period would end in February 2028, and the ten-year period measured from the first sale would end in August 2031, so the two-year period ends first.

The User’s Own Handling and the Proof of Failure

If a defendant contends that the user’s own handling contributed to the injury, the trier of fact assigns the user a percentage of fault and reduces the damages by it, and a user 50 percent or more responsible recovers nothing (OCGA 51-12-33(a), (g)). Why the device failed is a question for expert testimony, which must rest on sufficient facts or data and on reliable principles and methods reliably applied to the facts of the case (OCGA 24-7-702(b)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can a vape fire or explosion be reported?
The FDA asks consumers to report a vape fire or explosion through its Safety Reporting Portal (FDA, “Tips to Help Avoid Vape Battery Fires or Explosions”).

Can a person other than the buyer bring the strict-liability claim?
Yes. The manufacturer’s liability is not limited to the purchaser: it extends to any natural person who uses or consumes the product or could reasonably be affected by it, with no privity requirement (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1)).

Does the strict-liability statute cover a device bought secondhand?
The statute reaches the manufacturer of personal property sold as new and asks about the property’s condition when the manufacturer sold it, and the ten-year repose period runs from the first sale for use or consumption (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1), (2)).

Is there a cap on punitive damages in a vape product case?
Where punitive damages are proven under OCGA 51-12-5.1(b), a tort case arising from product liability has no limit on their amount, but only one punitive award may be recovered from a defendant for any act or omission, and 75 percent of it, less a proportionate share of litigation costs, goes to the state treasury (OCGA 51-12-5.1(e)).

  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Tips to Help Avoid Vape Battery Fires or Explosions” (content current as of Apr. 12, 2024)
  • OCGA 51-1-11(b), (c), (d); OCGA 51-1-11.1(a), (b), (c)
  • OCGA 9-10-91(1), (3)
  • Banks v. ICI Americas, Inc., 264 Ga. 732, 450 S.E.2d 671 (1994); Chrysler Corp. v. Batten, 264 Ga. 723, 450 S.E.2d 208 (1994)
  • OCGA 51-1-2; OCGA 11-2-314(1), (2)(c); OCGA 11-2-607(3)(a)
  • OCGA 9-3-33
  • OCGA 51-12-33(a), (g); OCGA 24-7-702(b); OCGA 51-12-5.1(b), (e)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about vaping-device injury claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Who may be sued, and which deadline applies, depend on the identity of the maker and seller, the date of first sale, the date of injury, and the specific facts. A person injured by a battery-powered device should consult a licensed Georgia attorney about the particular situation.

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