A lithium-ion pack that burned your home was probably defective, not unlucky. Florida product-liability law lets you hold the maker responsible. Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm, works these cases in Florida and Georgia.
Call 904-383-7448Reviewed by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Florida Bar No. 39104, Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm. Last updated .
If a lithium-ion battery in an e-bike, e-scooter, or hoverboard caught fire in Florida and injured you or burned your home, you likely have a strict product-liability claim against the manufacturer, the seller, and the battery and charger makers. Florida gives you four years to sue for personal injury from a defective product under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. If the fire killed someone, the wrongful-death clock is two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes, so the death cases must move fast. Many of these fires trace to packs and chargers never certified to UL 2849 for e-bikes, UL 2272 for personal e-mobility devices, or UL 2271 for the cells, and to missing battery-management systems that allow thermal runaway. Documented examples include the recall of about 53,000 42-volt Jetson Rogue hoverboards after a fire killed two girls, and a 2025 federal safety warning about Rad Power Bikes batteries tied to 31 reported fires. Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm, handles these claims in Florida and Georgia. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Start with the result you want. You want the company that built or sold the burning battery to pay for the burns, the smoke damage, the lost home, and the funeral if it came to that. Florida law lets you ask for exactly that.
A lithium-ion fire in an e-bike, an e-scooter, or a hoverboard is rarely an accident. It is usually a defect. The cell vents, the heat spreads, and the whole pack goes into thermal runaway. That pattern is a product problem, not a user mistake.
Florida gives you four years to file a personal-injury product-liability claim under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. If the fire killed a family member, you have only two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. Do not wait to learn which clock applies to you.
Graham W. Syfert, Esq., is Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm. He is admitted in Florida and Georgia and works these single-product fire cases. He does not promise a number. He promises to investigate the product and the record.
A lithium-ion pack stores a lot of energy in a small space. When one cell fails, it heats the cell next to it, and that cell fails too. Engineers call this chain reaction thermal runaway. It can reach more than a thousand degrees in seconds.
A well-built pack has a battery-management system. That circuit watches voltage, current, and temperature, and it shuts the pack down before a cell overheats. Cheap and uncertified packs often have a weak management system or none at all.
Most dangerous fires start during or just after charging. The wrong charger pushes too much current, a damaged cell shorts internally, or a water-exposed harness arcs. The owner is often asleep in the next room when the pack ignites.
Investigators look for an internal short circuit inside a cell, often from a manufacturing defect or a bent cell after a drop. They look for overcharge, where the management system failed to stop the charge. They look for an external short from frayed wiring inside the pack.
They also look for a mismatched charger. A charger built for a different pack can overcharge the battery and start the chain reaction. The charger is a defendant too, not just the battery.
Heat, water, and debris matter. The 2025 federal warning about Rad Power Bikes batteries noted that some batteries could ignite after the battery or the wiring harness had been exposed to water and debris. That is a design and warning question, not a user error.
UL 2849 is the safety standard for the whole electrical system of an e-bike, including the battery, charger, motor, and wiring tested together. UL 2272 covers the electrical systems of personal e-mobility devices such as e-scooters and hoverboards.
UL 2271 covers the lithium-ion battery pack itself for light electric vehicles. A pack tested to UL 2271 must survive overcharge, short circuit, crush, and temperature abuse without fire or explosion.
Many packs that burn were never certified to any of these standards by an accredited laboratory. The federal warning on Unit Pack Power batteries said plainly that those batteries had not been certified to the applicable UL standard. Lack of certification is powerful evidence of a defect.
Brand and model names matter to your case and to your search for help. The clearest examples have public recalls or federal safety warnings on the record. Those records help prove the maker knew or should have known.
Below are products with documented fire histories confirmed against federal sources. If your device is not listed, that does not mean you have no claim. It means the investigation will build the record your case needs.
On March 30, 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Jetson Electric Bikes recalled about 53,000 42-volt Jetson Rogue self-balancing scooters and hoverboards. The lithium-ion battery packs could overheat and catch fire. The recall number is 23-165.
The recall followed a fire on April 1, 2022, in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, that killed two sisters, ages 10 and 15. The local fire marshal determined that a 42-volt Jetson Rogue was the point of origin. The Rogue had sold at Target and on Jetson's own site.
Target and Jetson later agreed to a 38.5 million dollar settlement with the girls' parents in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. About 22 million dollars of that went to the estates and the parents. That figure reflects that specific case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
On November 24, 2025, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers to immediately stop using certain Rad Power Bikes e-bike batteries because they could ignite and explode. The warning named battery model numbers RP-1304, RAD-S1304Y, and HL-RP-S1304.
The agency said it was aware of 31 reports of fire, including 12 reports of property damage totaling about 734,500 dollars. Some fires happened while the battery was not charging and the bike was in storage.
Rad Power Bikes declined to agree to a full recall, telling the agency that replacing all the batteries would put the company out of business. The affected spare batteries could be used across many Rad models, including the RadRunner, RadWagon, RadRover, RadCity, RadMini, and RadExpand lines.
On April 15, 2024, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers to stop using Unit Pack Power, also sold as UPP, e-bike conversion batteries with model numbers U004 and U004-1. These are the black triangular packs people buy to convert a pedal bike to an e-bike.
The agency cited 13 reports that the battery overheated, including seven reports of fire and property damage. The batteries had not been certified to the applicable UL safety standard by an accredited laboratory.
The Chinese manufacturer refused to conduct an acceptable recall. The packs sold on AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and other sites from 2018 through April 2024. Aftermarket and conversion batteries like these account for a large share of the worst fires.
Florida lets you sue a product maker on more than one theory. The strongest is usually strict liability, because it does not require you to prove the company was careless. You prove the product was defective and that the defect caused your harm.
Florida adopted strict product liability in West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 336 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1976), following section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. That case is the foundation for a defective-battery claim in this state.
A manufacturing defect means this particular pack left the factory wrong. A bad weld, a contaminated cell, or a missing separator can make one unit dangerous even when the design is sound.
A design defect means the whole product line is unsafe as drawn. No battery-management system, no thermal protection, or cells that cannot pass UL 2271 abuse testing point to a design defect.
Failure to warn means the maker did not tell you how to charge or store the pack safely, or hid a known risk. When a company learns its battery is catching fire and stays quiet, that silence becomes part of the case.
You can also plead ordinary negligence, governed by the two-year deadline in section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes. Negligence focuses on what the company did wrong in designing, testing, or selling the battery.
Breach of the implied warranty of merchantability fits when the product was not fit for ordinary use. A battery that burns your home was not fit for ordinary use. These theories often travel together with the strict-liability count.
Deadlines decide cases before juries ever do. The wrong clock can end a strong claim. The numbering of section 95.11 changed after House Bill 837 took effect on March 24, 2023, and again in 2024, so old citations are unreliable. Use the current numbers.
For a personal-injury claim from a defective product, you have four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. This is the clock for burns and smoke-inhalation injuries from a defective battery, charger, or device.
If the fire killed someone, the wrongful-death clock is two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. These fires kill people in their sleep, so the death cases carry the shortest and most unforgiving deadline.
Florida also has a statute of repose for products under section 95.031(2)(b), Florida Statutes. A products claim generally cannot be brought more than 12 years after the product was delivered to its first purchaser. An older battery may be barred no matter when it burned.
General negligence carries a two-year deadline under section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes. Comparative fault under section 768.81, Florida Statutes, applies as well. A person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm recovers nothing, so how you charged and stored the pack will be examined.
If the fire happened in Georgia, different numbers apply. Strict product liability lives in OCGA section 51-1-11, which makes a manufacturer of new personal property liable irrespective of privity when the product was not merchantable.
Georgia gives you two years for a personal-injury claim under OCGA section 9-3-33. Georgia also has a ten-year statute of repose in OCGA section 51-1-11 measured from the first sale for use of the product. An old device can be barred there too.
A battery fire case lives or dies on physical evidence. The burned pack, the charger, and the device are the heart of the proof. Once they are hauled to the landfill, the case is much harder and sometimes impossible.
Tell your insurer and the fire department, in writing, that the burned device and battery must be preserved. Do not let anyone discard, clean, or alter the scene before your lawyer and an engineer can examine it.
Keep everything that connects you to the product. The receipt, the box, the charger, the manual, the order email, and any photos of the device before the fire all help identify the maker and model and show how the pack was used and charged.
More than one company can be on the hook. The chain of sale and manufacture usually includes several defendants, and each may carry insurance. Naming the right parties early protects the claim.
The device manufacturer is the obvious defendant. So is the battery cell or pack maker, which is often a separate company, sometimes overseas. The charger manufacturer belongs in the case when a charger defect or mismatch caused the fire.
The retailer that sold the product can be liable too. In the Jetson matter, both the maker and the retailer, Target, were named, and both paid. A landlord or property manager may share fault if a building defect made the fire worse, though that is a separate negligence question under section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes.
I am Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm. I am admitted in Florida and Georgia, including the federal courts in both states. I keep these cases framed around a single product and a single failure. That focus is deliberate.
These fires sometimes draw national lawyer advertising and talk of multidistrict litigation. I do not pull a client into a crowd if the better path is a single-product case with its own facts, its own burned pack, and its own jury. Your fire is not a statistic.
I verify every brand, model, and recall against the federal record before I rely on it. The Consumer Product Safety Commission publishes recalls and warnings, and those documents matter. If I cannot confirm a fact, I do not put it in your complaint.
I cannot promise a result, and Florida Bar rules forbid me from claiming to be the best or a specialist. I can promise to investigate the product, preserve the evidence, and tell you honestly what the deadlines and the proof will allow. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
If a lithium-ion battery fire from an e-bike, e-scooter, or hoverboard injured you or burned your home, take these first steps to protect your health and your claim.
Possibly yes. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled about 53,000 42-volt Jetson Rogue hoverboards on March 30, 2023, because the lithium-ion packs could overheat and catch fire. If a Rogue burned you or your home, you may have a Florida product-liability claim with a four-year deadline under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
It depends on your facts. On November 24, 2025, federal regulators warned consumers to stop using certain Rad Power batteries, model numbers RP-1304, RAD-S1304Y, and HL-RP-S1304, after 31 reported fires. Rad Power declined a full recall. A fire from one of these packs may support a Florida product-liability claim. Have your model number and burned pack examined before anything is discarded.
For a personal-injury claim from a defective product, you have four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. If the fire killed a family member, the wrongful-death deadline is only two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. An older product may also be barred by the 12-year statute of repose in section 95.031(2)(b), Florida Statutes.
Two years. A Florida wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. These fires often kill people while they sleep, so the death cases carry the shortest clock. Preserve the burned battery and device immediately and speak with a lawyer without delay.
Generally yes. UL 2849 tests the full e-bike electrical system, UL 2272 covers personal e-mobility devices like e-scooters and hoverboards, and UL 2271 covers the battery pack. Federal warnings on Unit Pack Power and other batteries noted they were not certified to the applicable UL standard. Lack of certification is strong evidence of a defect.
Federal regulators thought so. On April 15, 2024, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers to stop using Unit Pack Power, or UPP, batteries with model numbers U004 and U004-1 after 13 overheating reports, including seven fires. The batteries were not certified to the applicable UL standard, and the maker refused an acceptable recall.
Keep the burned battery, the charger, and the device itself, and do not let anyone throw them out. Save the receipt, the box, the manual, and the order records that identify the maker and model. Tell your insurer in writing to preserve the device. Photograph the scene. The physical pack is the heart of the proof.
Often several parties. The device manufacturer, the separate battery cell or pack maker, the charger manufacturer, and the retailer that sold it can all be defendants. In the Jetson hoverboard matter both the maker and the retailer, Target, paid. The right defendants depend on which product part failed.
It can matter, but it rarely ends a case. Florida uses modified comparative fault under section 768.81, Florida Statutes, so a person found more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing. A defective pack that ignites during normal overnight charging is still a product defect. How you charged the pack will be examined, not assumed against you.
Yes. Graham W. Syfert, Esq., is admitted in Florida and Georgia. Georgia strict product liability lives in OCGA section 51-1-11, the personal-injury deadline is two years under OCGA section 9-3-33, and Georgia has a ten-year statute of repose. He works these cases as Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm.
Free consultation. The phone rings to Graham, not a call center.
Call: 904-383-7448