Citation

Beining T, Thogmartin JR, Kurz W. J. Forensic Sci. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

District Six Medical Examiner's Office, 10900 Ulmerton Road, Largo, FL, 33778.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.14315

PMID

32202654

Abstract

One of the dangers of a rapidly growing technology industry is the risk involved in being intimately close to lithium-ion batteries. When exposed to improper conditions, lithium-ion batteries in a variety of devices have been reported to ignite and, in some cases, explode. With the rise of electronic cigarette use and modifications, the lithium-ion batteries in these devices are subject to a higher risk of malfunction. This is a retrograde analysis of a 38-year-old man who experienced fatal penetrating head trauma while using a modified electronic cigarette device. The findings suggest that the trauma from the explosion was caused by the thermal runaway of the lithium-ion battery in the modified e-cigarette.

© 2020 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

autopsy; cranial trauma; forensic pathology; lithium-ion battery; modified electronic cigarette; thermal runaway; vape