How Can Filing a Lawsuit Against JUUL Help Me

Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran

An increasing number of lawsuits around the United States are targeting e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL. By now, it has been well established that JUUL products and the company’s deceptive marketing have caused health problems such as lung damage, nicotine addiction, and other personal injuries to thousands of individuals, including minors. This is despite widespread advertising by the company suggesting that JUUL products are safer than cigarettes.

JUUL has relied on tried and tested advertising strategies traditionally used by cigarette manufacturers to promote a product whose actual health consequences may be even worse than cigarettes, with the company knowing about these potential consequences.

Know Your Rights

If you suspect you have sustained health injuries due to using JUUL, you should consider hiring an experienced personal injury attorney to represent you. At Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., our attorneys have extensive knowledge of product and medical liability, as well as a concrete understanding of the nationwide litigation that is developing against JUUL and other e-cigarette manufacturers.

As of July 15, 2021, there were already 2339 lawsuits against JUUL across the United States. They are combined in a multidistrict litigation (MDL). Multidistrict litigation is a federal procedure used in the U.S. to combine multiple complex civil cases when they share a common issue. This speeds up the process because all cases are transferred to a single district court for discovery and pretrial proceedings.

If you are considering filing a lawsuit against JUUL, it’s important to realize you are not alone, and there are already legal proceedings in place that you can become part of to seek justice.

The Hazards of JUUL Usage

JUUL is the most widespread brand of electronic cigarettes in the United States today. JUUL vaping products are designed and promoted as an alternative to traditional cigarettes and one that even young people and children can indulge in without harm. However, this advertising scheme is false.

A JUUL vaping device is operated by batteries that heat liquid nicotine when inhaled. This liquid, stored in a JUUL pod, functions as the stand-in for traditional tobacco and is inhaled through the mouthpiece of the vaper (or device). The heated liquid is vaporized into an aerosol that is inhaled, similar to how you’d inhale when smoking a cigarette.

However, the amount of nicotine contained in JUUL pods exceeds that of cigarettes. A JUUL pod, on average, has roughly the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes, but it is ingested more quickly due to its smaller size. This means that the speed with which a JUUL pod is ingested surpasses that of an average pack of cigarettes, increasing the risk of faster nicotine addiction.

In addition to this increased potential for nicotine addiction, JUUL use has been linked to seizures and may even lead to deadly lung conditions, such as popcorn lung. Popcorn lung is a rare lung condition that results in scarring of the airways due to inflammation. Eventually, it leads to severe lung damage. The symptoms include:

• A dry cough
• Rapid breathing
• Unexplained wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Eye, nose, and mouth irritation (due to the chemical causing the condition)

If you or your child are experiencing symptoms consistent with popcorn lung, it’s critical to seek medical attention immediately. Keep records of all medical care you receive as a result of using JUUL products because these documents can serve as evidence for your legal case.

JUUL has also tried to avoid disclosing what kind of chemicals their pods contain, which have consequently been shown to include diacetyl, carbonyl, and other volatile organic compounds. JUUL use has even been linked to fatalities.

According to the former U.S. Surgeon General, JUUL and other e-cigarette consumption have led to a youth vaping epidemic in the United States. According to the CDC, 10 million youth aged 12-17 in the U.S. have either tried e-cigarettes or are open to trying them. JUUL’s contention that its product was safe was long accepted at face value. Until recently, the company could flood the market with its products without being subject to regulatory oversight.

False Marketing

One of the central reasons for the widespread use of JUUL has been its effective marketing techniques. JUUL’s advertising campaigns have been shown to target social media channels oriented toward youth, even going as far as purchasing banner ads on websites used by children, such as the Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon, and paying schools to let company representatives deliver their product messaging directly to children and young adults.

The extensive range of fruity and other flavors offered by nicotine pods have also been revealed as a marketing tool designed to entice teens and youth, adding to the semblance of harmlessness. The appealing flavors have made minors more likely to maintain their habit in the longer term, which, in tandem with developing nicotine addiction, also increases their consumption and the health effects associated with it, such as lung disease.

Finding the Right Attorney for a JUUL Lawsuit

If you or your child’s health has been compromised because you used JUUL under the false pretext that it was safe and you are considering filing a lawsuit against the company, you must have an attorney that understands what type of lawsuit you should file.

Lawsuits involving e-cigarettes usually fall under the category of product liability or medical lawsuit. There is a difference between them that you need to be aware of when determining which kind of lawsuit to file under your specific circumstances.

In a product liability lawsuit, you and your attorneys must be able to demonstrate that a product is defective and was distributed with preexisting knowledge of potential hazards that were not disclosed to you as a consumer.

In a medical liability lawsuit, you must be able to prove a direct connection between the use of the product and a health issue that has arisen. In both cases, keep any documentation validating your medical concerns in connection to a JUUL product as evidence to support your claims.

The right lawyer for a JUUL lawsuit should have considerable experience in both types of lawsuits because, in a claim that JUUL has led to personal damages, the lawyer must be able to identify which type of case applies to your circumstances or when the two kinds of lawsuits may converge.

Filing a JUUL Lawsuit in Michigan

If you are in Michigan and you, your child, or a loved one are experiencing health issues due to smoking JUUL or any other brand of e-cigarette, contact the law offices of Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. immediately. Our senior partner, Eileen Kroll, is also a registered nurse with extensive experience interpreting medical data to support legal claims.

Do not suffer alone or be intimidated by the claims of powerful businesses like JUUL, who are ultimately responsible for detrimental effects on your health. Filing a lawsuit against JUUL can help you address medical bills and other damages incurred while you recover and return to a healthy, productive life.

If you decide to file a lawsuit through us in the state of Michigan, our law firm’s contingency fee means that we only get paid if we win your case, so there’s no financial risk to you.

Filing a lawsuit against JUUL can help you to prioritize both your health and your rights. Contact Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. today. Our skilled legal team can be reached for a free consultation at 866-MICH-LAW.

Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.