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The Next Big Thing? Vaping Deaths and Analysis of Potential Litigation Issues

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The Next Big Thing? Vaping Deaths and Analysis of Potential Litigation Issues

December 23, 2019
Jeffrey Alperin

Jeffrey Alperin, a partner in the firm’s Toxic Tort and Environmental Law practice groups, wrote an article for the American Bar Association’s Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee Newsletter discussing the outbreak of vaping-related deaths and potential litigation in the future.

In “The Next Big Thing? Vaping Deaths and Analysis of Potential Litigation Issues,” Jeffrey analyzes e-cigarette devices as a hypothetical cause for the outbreaks and its use of THC products in the pens that contain Vitamin E acetate. With this theory in mind, he talks about how the wave of products liability litigation will involve numerous parties, detailed application of both old and new theories of liability, and potentially hundreds of defendants in each case.

“The CDC has carefully noted that it has not identified the cause of the lung injuries in these cases, but the only commonality is that patients report the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products. Further, the CDC notes that no one compound or ingredient has yet emerged as the cause of the illnesses, and that there might be more than one cause of the reported outbreak. Although there have been no conclusions reached, state and federal health officials have found the presence of the same chemical in samples of cannabis products used by people that have fallen ill, and a preliminary report of 53 patients with lung illnesses in Illinois and Wisconsin found that 84% had used a product containing THC.”

 

Read the full article here:

The Next Big Thing? Vaping Deaths and Analysis of Potential Litigation Issues,” American Bar Association Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee Newsletter, Fall 2019

More about Goldberg Segalla’s Jeffrey Alperin:

Jeffrey Alperin is a trial attorney who focuses on defending property owners and product manufacturers in toxic tort and environmental actions. With a comprehensive background including insurance coverage and defense, environmental law, product liability, and construction, as well as local government, school, and employment law, Jeff represents clients in trials and appeals in state courts, federal district courts, and circuit courts of appeals. Jeff has litigated toxic tort and product liability cases on a nationwide basis, representing manufacturers of packing, gaskets, and boilers, as well as raw asbestos manufacturers and suppliers.