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A Schofield Barracks soldier says he lost four teeth and sustained other permanent injuries when an e-cigarette blew up in his face.
Tyler Moore is suing Now Holding LLC, the company that sold him the e-cigarette. His lawyers filed the lawsuit in state court Wednesday.
Moore, 20, a military police officer, says in the lawsuit that he bought the e-cigarette with a battery charger from a Now Holding kiosk, doing business as Island Vaporz Electronic Cigarettes, at Pearlridge Center in November 2014. He said he was using the e-cigarette on Dec. 5, 2014, when it exploded.
“It burst into flames,” said Wayne Kekina, Moore’s lawyer.
Kekina said the explosion destroyed four of Moore’s upper front teeth, severely damaged four lower teeth and damaged seven others. He said the explosion also injured Moore’s left eye and embedded shrapnel in his lips.
Kekina said Moore has so far had 25 visits to the dentist to repair the damage from the exploding e-cigarette, including installing bridges and implants. He says Moore has returned to work but still experiences pain and his jaw does not close the way it used to.
“People have to realize that this new cigarette is unregulated and extremely dangerous,” Kekina said.
There have been reports on the mainland of exploding e-cigarettes, but Moore’s is the first reported in Hawaii. Most of the reports say it was the e-cigarette’s battery that exploded.
Now Holding no longer operates an Island Vaporz kiosk at Pearlridge Center.
The principal and agent for Now Holding is Brent Lankford. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser was unable to reach Lankford for comment.
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