While most everyone is familiar with the phrase, “pants on fire,” that is exactly what happened to a lawyer during an arson trial in Florida on Wednesday.

In a strange turn of events at an Arson trial in Florida, the lawyer for the defendant in the case, Stephen Gutierrez, began smoldering and his pants caught on fire as he argued his client’s innocence to the jury. His client stands accused of setting his vehicle on fire, the defendant argues that his vehicle spontaneously combusted. 

Gutierrez was rushed from the Miami-Dade Courtroom as his pants billowed smoke. He returned to the courtroom a short time later, he was unharmed by the incident.

According to the reports, Gutierrez said that an e-cigarette that he was fiddling with in his pocket as he spoke in court, malfunctioned.

This is not the first time that e-cigarette batteries have caused injuries. There have been reported cases of the batteries exploding and causing serious injuries and burns to user’s face and hands. Some instances have been serious enough to fracture bones and cause loss of eyesight.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]Just last year, a 19-year-old teen in Colorado suffered serious burns to his thigh when an e-cigarette battery exploded in his pocket, setting him afire. Even after he ripped his pants off, the acid from the battery continued to burn his upper leg.

The lithium-ion batteries used in e-cigarettes are small and powerful, and while no single cause is currently known, the instances of burns and injuries directly caused by e-cigarettes is on the rise as the smoking aids become increasingly popular.

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