a texas man is suing the store where he bought electronic cigarette batteries after they exploded in his pocket and caused injuries to his thighs and scrotum david powell, of arlington, is seeking a minimum of $1million after receiving first and second degree burns from the incident that occurred while he was playing kickball at his daughter's birthday party the two lithium ion batteries mr powell bought from vixen vapors a couple days earlier were not struck, but exploded in his cargo shorts and sent 'a scathing hot mixture of shrapnel' into his groin scroll down for video  warning: graphic image below  david powell (background) was injured during a kickball game in august after e cigarette batteries he bought from vixen vapors in texas exploded in the pocket of his cargo shorts (foreground) vixen vapors (left) now has signs that tell customers about the dangers of storing e cigarette batteries following the incident that left mr powell with first and second degree burn (right, month after incident) it was 'a hot, fizzing kind of explosion not a loud kaboom, [more like] a sizzling star the sparks were shooting from his crotch area' the man's lawyer john ross told the forth worth star telegram he quickly rushed to a shower to wash off the lithium and other chemicals, but the former marine still had to spend four days in a burn unit after the august incident mr powell is now able to wear pants again vixen vapors does not make the batteries in question, and they are thought to be manufactured in china mr powell and mr ross allege that the products were 'unreasonably dangerous' and 'failed to conform to the applicable design standards and specifications' in a statement to cbs dfw, vixen vapors said 'we work hard to educate our customers on their proper use and storage we believe that if a product is defective, then its manufacturer should take responsibility' the brand of batteries that exploded in mr powell's pocket, manufactured in china, has not been pulled from the shelves at vixen vapors  the shop has put up a sign warning to customers about putting batteries in anything other than a battery safety box the brand of batteries that exploded has not been pulled dangerous incidents associated with e cigarettes have become more common as the devices, which work by heating liquid with nicotine and turning it into vapor to be inhaled a collection of media reports show that 25 accidents with e cigarettes and their batteries occurred between 2009 and 2014  a 29 year old man in southern california quit smoking on monday after his e cigarette blew up his hand shortly after he pulled it away from his face, according abc7 the cigarette shot up and stuck in his ceiling other incidents have seen homes and cars worth thousands of dollars destroyed because of malfunctioning devices most e cigarette accidents occur while the device is being charged after the battery becomes overheated while many studies have said that electronic cigarettes are safer than their traditional tobacco counterparts, debate continues about their long term effects the un's world health organization released a report last year saying that the devices could be gateways to traditional smoking and called for regulations against advertisements that could entice children firefighters have told e cigarette users to:    charge the device on a flat, solid and stable surface, such as a kitchen worktop;    keep the device away from flammable or combustible materials when charging;    never leave the device on a bed or close to soft furnishings, or in a cluttered space;    don’t exceed the recommended charging time, or leave unattended for any significant length of time eg overnight while you’re asleep, or if you go out;    don’t buy cheap, unbranded chargers and always follow the manufacturer’s instructions e cigarette chargers, like this one which set fire to a building in london, are behind an increasing number of blazes 
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david powell, of arlington, texas, bought batteries days before explosion  vixen vapor store does not make the devices, which come from china  former marine had to spend four days in burn unit with injuries to groin 