Gustavo Mendes was standing in his bathroom “in a state of undress” while using a cannabis vape pen he recently purchased at a licensed Oregon dispensary when the pen exploded in his hands, injuring him and causing a small fire, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 7, as first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Mendes bought the cannabis vaporizer manufactured/marketed by defendant Quantum Alchemy at defendant Hwy 99 Cannabis Co., according to the complaint, which was filed in the Lane County Circuit Court. He used the pen “only a handful of times and … in a matter for which it was designed” when, on Feb. 13, 2023, he noticed the pen had become hot to the touch. The pen then exploded in his hands. “When the Vape Pen exploded it caused thermal and chemical burns to parts of Plaintiff’s body including, but not limited to, his eyes, his torso, and his penis,” the complaint stated.
The eye injuries Mendes suffered also allegedly caused ongoing light sensitivity, preventing him from continuing to work in his career as a welder, “a job that exposes one to extremely bright lights even when eye protection is used, and he had to switch careers – which negatively affected his income in 2023,” according to the suit.
Mendes, represented by Clark Law & Associates LLC, is suing Hwy 99 and Quantum Alchemy for past and future medical expenses, $20,000 in property damage caused to his bathroom, and $51,596 in economic damages from lost wages.
He is also seeking $150,000 in noneconomic damages “to make him whole from the pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, life disruptions, embarrassment and inconvenience he has, does and will experience due to the Vape Pen exploding and injuring him,” according to the complaint. The suit states that due to Quantum Alchemy and Hwy 99’s various alleged violations and negligence, Mendes “sustained thermal and chemical burns to various parts of his body including, but not limited to, his eyes, his torso and his penis, and due to these thermal and chemical burns he has experienced, he continues to experience, and he almost certainly will in the future experience significant pain, suffering, life disruptions, embarrassment, loss of enjoyment of life, and inconvenience.”
The relief sought by the plaintiff totals $233,069.50.
“Quantum Alchemy’s website has expired and an email inquiry bounced back,” The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The person who answered the phone at Hwy 99 told the media outlet, “There is no lawsuit, bud,” and hung up. “A man listed as the authorized representative of the business did not immediately respond to a separate request for comment. … Mendes couldn’t be reached for comment, and his attorney, Brendan Burke, doesn’t comment on pending litigation, according to a receptionist. Burke did not respond to an email,” the article stated.
Quantum Alchemy’s products were also at the center of a mandatory product recall in Oregon in December 2022 after the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) found that some products manufactured by Quantum Alchemy as well as another licensed company, Bobsled, tested positive for pesticide contamination. The OLCC issued a mandatory recall for the products, due to the companies’ failure to follow OLCC and Oregon Health Authority regulations for tracking and isolating cannabis products that tested positive for the presence of pesticides, as reported by Cannabis Business Times. The recall impacted 13,600 products that were sold to consumers, as well as 9,300 products that were still on dispensary shelves.
RELATED: Oregon Officials Issue Recall for Cannabis Extracts Due to Improper Pesticide Testing
Hwy 99 has a 4.5-star rating on Google and a 3.8-star rating on Leafly.
