Man suffers fractured neck, third degree burns and has hole blown through the roof of his mouth after e-cigarette explodes

James Lauria suffered burns to his face, chest and fingers

James Lauria had to be flown to a specialist burns unit in Alabama due to the severity of his injuries (YouTube)

A 23-year-old man suffered a fractured neck and finger, burns to his hand and eyes and had a hole blown through his palate after an e-cigarette blew up in his face.

James Lauria, 23, of Cobb County in Georgia, US, told FoxNews5 it had been “a normal day” on 29 July when he had stepped away from his work for a few minutes to smoke his e-cigarette.

“The next thing I know, it exploded and I was on my way to a hospital in an ambulance, and that is the last thing I remember,” Lauria told the broadcaster.

Lauria’s father Ed said his son suffered first degree burns to his face and chest, while the explosion also forced a tooth up into his gum and “out of sight”.

Lauria was airlifted to the University of Alabama burns unit due to the severity of his injuries and is now recuperating at his parent’s house, though he is still on a liquid diet and now speaks with a lisp.

Lauria said he was keen to talk about the incident was keen to talk about the incident to warn others about the apparent dangers of e-cigarettes. The South Fulton Fire and Rescue Department are currently investigating the incident.

This summer a series of “highly disturbing” fires caused by exploding e-cigarette chargers led to a nationwide safety alert in the UK, with more than 100 fires thought to have been caused by the devices in the last two years.