The mother of an 18-year-old Juul user who passed away due to respiratory complications has filed what appears to be the first wrongful death lawsuit against vaping company Juul. The lawsuit alleges that the teen was first exposed to Juul’s advertising in 2015, became strongly addicted to its nicotine vaping products, and in 2018 was found dead by his father.
The complaint alleges that the victim’s behavior changed significantly after he became addicted to Juul’s products, and that he was hospitalized for three days within the first year that he began using them. Multiple lawsuits are pending against the company related to allegedly unlawful marketing to minors as well as injury causes of action. While many victims of the hundreds of reported vaping-related lung injuries and over two dozen deaths used products containing THC, some used products containing only nicotine.
Additional Reading
An 18-Year-Old Died After Becoming Addicted To Vaping. Now His Mom Is Going After Juul., BuzzFeed News, October 15, 2019
Juul Hit With Suit Over Teen’s Death From Respiratory Injury, Bloomberg Law, October 15, 2019
Complaint, Vail v. Juul Labs, Inc., filed, October 15, 2019, via Justia Dockets
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com / PavelKant
