The mother of a Florida teenager has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Juul Labs after she says her 18-year-old son became addicted to the vaping device, a habit that killed him last year. According to US News, Lisa Marie Vail filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Daniel David Wakefield was “a healthy teenager whose life tragically and prematurely ended” because of injuries that were directly caused by his addiction to Juul, according to the lawsuit, which is the first of its kind. The teen died in his sleep.
Heightened Concern About Health Effects From Vaping
This wrongful death lawsuit comes amid heightened concern about youth vaping in general. Officials say the country is experiencing an epidemic of e-cigarette use and Juul is considered a primary culprit for targeting young people with its sleep and discreet nicotine vaping devices. Recent months have also linked vaping to more than two dozen deaths and scores of lung illnesses.
In the lawsuit, Vail claims that her son started vaping at the age of 15 after he saw Juul advertisements. The lawsuit states that after he began to use Juul products, Wakefield’s interest and performance in school significantly worsened and that “his emotional well-being was substantially altered.” His mother stated that his addiction worsened over time.
The lawsuit also says that less than a year after he began to use Juul, Wakefield was hospitalized for three days for breathing and lung complications
. He was so addicted that hospital staff had to affix nicotine patches to Wakefield’s skin throughout his hospitalization. The teen eventually died of breathing complications in August 2018. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and is reportedly the first against a major e-cigarette company.
E-Cig Marketing and Liability Issues
Even though Juul says it doesn’t market its vaping products to adolescents, it is clear from its extensive marketing campaign on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram that the company has systematically and purposefully targeted teens and young adults to sell its products.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had to crack down on Juul and ordered it’s marketing campaigns to be suspended. Until that happened, the company showed no signs of slowing down. The allegations in this wrongful death lawsuit raise more concerns about the health effects of e-cigarettes. It is frightening to consider that a young person using this product could experience serious health effects and potentially die within a few years.
As vape injury attorneys who represent the rights of injured consumers, we hope these reports of deaths and deadly lung illnesses linked to e-cigarettes will motivate more cities and jurisdictions to crack down on these dangerous and defective products.
Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-10-16/juul-labs-faces-lawsuit-over-18-year-olds-death
