BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A 14-year-old is learning an unfortunate and painful lesson about the dangers of vaping.
"I can't see anything because I got a cut through my cornea," said Leor Domatov, 14.
The teenager is completely blind in his left eye after using an electronic cigarette. He faces possibly permanent damage to his hands.
Domatov was testing out one of the devices at the Plaza Vapes kiosk in Brooklyn's Kings Plaza Mall.
Leor Domatov, 14
"The guy was showing me different products of the vaporizers, said Domatov. "While he was showing me, he connected one of the vaporizers to the battery of the store. He gave it to me to hold and when I was holding it, it exploded in my hands and my face."
State and local laws say it's illegal to sell these products to minors. Leor is only 14.
An employee at Plaza Vapes told PIX11 it was only her second day on the job.
Leor’s father has since hired attorney Marc Freund to take on the case.
"Leor was being marketed at the entrance of the Kings Plaza Mall," said Freund, a partner at Lipsig, Shapey, Manus and Moverman. "A mall that caters to children, and they're marketing these products, causing all these injuries."
Freund said the kiosk uses cards promotes the company’s Instagram account, and vaping products that bear a striking resemblance to popular breakfast cereals.
“The duty falls to Kings Plaza and the kiosk owner to make sure there's signs in place to warn the children," said Freund. "There was not even a single sign advising of the city and state law until after this incident takes place."
Kings Plaza management did not return calls for comment.
