All three pointed to the same point of impact exactly where I said it had hit, below the gum line directly on the mandible. Our top doc, who is forensically trained and has testified in many court cases (although he’d spend a lot more time studying a case for such testimony), even pointed out that he saw the pattern of a rectangular object, similar and consistent to an e-cigarette, or pipe stem, mouthpiece, horizontally imprinted in the bone in the impact zone.
All three said they had seen damage similar to that from FALLS where something in the mouth had struck the ground or something on the ground had impacted the face. No burns of any consequence meant the e-cigarette had not caused the damage. One doctor had experience with patients who had had e-cigarettes that burst into flames. These patients all had burns on hands and on their faces, but, he said, they had no internal oral damage.
Not a single one of the three doctors could see any way a Lithium Ion battery could “explode” with enough force to break a mandible. Our senior doctor had been an engineer before becoming a doctor. He said the amount of force is only consistent with a fall or being struck by some massive force. He suggested a bicycle accident with the e-cigarette in the kids mouth, which would account for it moving down below the lip line.
Your post have been very informative.
Interesting observations. Thank you for sharing.
I can’t recall when reading the article if it was mentioned whether the kid’s family had instituted any lawsuits against the mfg of the e cig or the battery. If they have, and the observations you noted are accurate, a trial could be quite informative and interesting.
When my daughter was young she would holler at me if I had a toothpick in my mouth when I was driving. An old habit which she forced me to abandon. Intelligent kids can be annoying at times /chuckle.
Well it is always possible that kid fabricated the story in some way.