A Carbon County man filed a civil suit in the county court alleging an e-cigarette he was using exploded, causing him first-degree burns and setting fire to his bedroom set and mattress.

Defendants in the suit are the manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers of the electronic cigarette he was using.

Jason Holden, 635 Forest Inn Road, Lehighton, filed the action. Named defendants were the following: Samsung SDI Company LTD, Seoul, Korea; Samsung SDI America Inc., San Jose, California; Cloud Valley Vapor, Cloud Chemistry Associates LLC and Twisted Vapor LLC, all of Brodheadsville, Monroe County; Shenzhen Eleaf Electronics Company LTD, Shenzhen, China, and ELEAF USA, Santa Ana, California; and Shenzhen Ismoka Electronics Company LTD, Shenzhen, China.

The suit states that on March 14, 2018, Holden was using his electronic cigarette device when “suddenly the e-cigarette battery exploded, causing severe injury to his chin and his hands.”

The suit further states that after he threw the device down, it hit the corner of his bed, causing his bedroom set and mattress to catch fire.

The explosion resulted in Holden receiving first-degree burns to his chin and both hands.

The two-count suit further states only a few federal regulations have been proposed regarding e-cigarettes. The suit also claims, “E-cigarettes are more dangerous than other products that contain lithium batteries because the e-cigarette is most often designed as a cylindrical device.” It adds, “Thus, when the device malfunctions or fails, the battery can be shot out like a bullet or rocket.”

The 21-page suit goes in to detail the history of e-cigarettes and alleges the dangers that exist and further claims what happened to Holden “is not a novel occurrence; e-cigarettes have caused fires and explosions which have injured many consumers.” It also reviews some incidents where other people have been injured by e-cigarettes exploding.

The suit alleges negligence against the defendants and seeks damages in excess of $50,000 on each count together with interest and costs of the suit.

The suit was filed by attorney Michael C. Ksiazek, of the law offices of Stark & Stark, Yardley.