Woman Awarded $1.9 Million In Exploding E-Cigarette Case Speaks

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A San Clemente woman spoke about a recent jury verdict that awarded her nearly $2 million after she was badly burned when an electronic cigarette exploded.

"When the product exploded, it shot shrapnel onto my left thigh which lit my dress on fire," recalled Jennifer Ries of the incident in March 2013.

Ries has now won $1.9 million from the product's distributor, wholesaler and the Corona store, Tobacco Expo, where she purchased the e-cigarette.

Ries says she was burned when she was charging the device using a car charger.

"I hope it brings to light the dangers of different products that there's no regulations on. I pray that that's the outcome of this," she said.

Attorney Gregory Bentley successfully convinced a jury that Ries was not warned that charging the electronic cigarette's lithium ion battery in her car could be dangerous and unsafe.

The jury agreed that it was defective in design.

"What we argued was that this was a defective product because it could be overcharged which overheat it and cause it to explode which makes it dangerous," Bentley said.

Ries' case is included in a FEMA report on electronic cigarette explosions. Of the 25 fires highlight, 20 happened as the e-cigarettes were being charged.