Kansas City Defective Battery Lawyers

How often do defective batteries cause accidents and injuries?

More often than you think, and in ways you might not expect. Between 2006 and July 1, 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration reported 375 aviation-related incidents involving lithium batteries carried as cargo or baggage.

A few of the more notable accidents/events involving defective lithium batteries include:

• The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone series being withdrawn, costing Samsung a fortune, after repeated fires.
• A warehouse in Illinois housed about 200,000 pounds of batteries – mostly lithium-ion. About one-fourth of the batteries were defective, damaged, or recalled. The combination of the defective batteries, a rainy day, a leaky roof, an ill-suited warehouse, and the lack of understanding by firefighters in extinguishing Li-on battery fires – the use of water to put out the fires caused a “thermal runaway.” The batteries continued to flare for 28 days.
• Two meltdowns at Vistra Energy Storage Facility, California (in 2021 and 2022) caused extensive property damage.
• An explosion caused injuries to several firefighters when a large battery used to power an Arizona neighborhood failed.

Several house fires occurred when hoverboards with lithium batteries overheated or caused fires. Numerous brands of hoverboards were recalled when the hoverboards first became popular, in 2016 and 2017.

There are also numerous reports of victims of small lithium batteries requiring emergency room care. They can also lead to other types of accidents. For example, a person who uses a vape pen in the car may cause an accident if the pen explodes during use. A worker whose phone catches fire while he or she is on the roof can easily fall, or cause others to fall, in an attempt to get away from the phone.

Why are Li-on batteries so dangerous?

All batteries store energy. The energy is later released through chemical reactions. Electricity enters and exits the battery through electrodes. The problem with Li-on batteries, though, is that they’re “extremely volatile,” as Iron Core Technology explains:

When [Li-on batteries] overheat, they can spontaneously ignite and then explode. The causes of this condition include electrical shorting, rapid discharge, and overcharging. In addition, there may be a manufacturing defect or improper design, which can also contribute to overheating. In either case, the internal temperature and pressure will rise to potentially dangerous levels.

Lithium-ion batteries are highly flammable. The fire can’t be extinguished because the cells propagate independently. To put out a fire, a user should remove the lithium battery and let it cool. A fire can be controlled for a certain amount of time or left outside. But a prolonged exposure to heat from a lithium battery can cause the pack to burst into flames.

Lithium-ion batteries should be kept away from high-temperature locations. They need to be stored properly. They need to be disposed of properly. The manufacturer should provide clear instructions on use, storage, and disposal.