Electric vehicles are on Georgia roads in growing numbers. Most battery systems work as designed. When they do not, the consequences are unlike anything a conventional car fire produces. EV battery fires burn hotter, spread faster, and can reignite hours after they appear to be out. People die. Families are permanently injured. Vehicles, garages, and homes are destroyed.
McDonald & Cody handles electric car battery fire cases across Georgia. Jackson McDonald, who clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit for three years, leads this work. He understands the product liability law that governs these cases at its deepest level, and he is prepared to litigate them against the largest manufacturers in the world.
A conventional car fire is serious. An electric vehicle battery fire is in a different category entirely.
The battery pack in an electric vehicle can store an enormous amount of energy, often enough to power a home for 24 hours or more. When that pack enters thermal runaway, it does not behave like a fuel fire. It burns at temperatures that can exceed 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Standard water from a fire hose does little to stop it. The fire can reignite hours or even days after it appears to be extinguished because the battery cells continue to react internally.
The smoke and gases produced are toxic. Hydrogen fluoride, a byproduct of burning lithium-ion cells, can cause severe respiratory damage, chemical burns, and death. First responders are still developing protocols for these fires. The people closest to them when they start rarely have time to wait.
EV battery fires have identifiable causes. Most trace back to a decision someone made long before the car was sold.
Thermal runaway is the most common failure mode. One cell overheats. That heat triggers the cell next to it. The chain reaction spreads through the pack faster than any safety system can interrupt it. But thermal runaway does not start on its own. It starts because of a manufacturing defect that left a cell vulnerable. Or a design flaw that pushed cells beyond safe operating limits. Or physical damage from a collision that compromised the battery housing. Or a charging system that applied the wrong voltage over time.
In many cases, the manufacturer was aware of the risk. Internal documents, engineering reports, and prior incidents told them exactly what could happen. They made a calculation. McDonald & Cody investigates to find that calculation and put it in front of a jury.
The injuries from electric car battery fires are severe. Many are permanent.
Burns are the most visible injury. EV battery fires produce intense, sustained heat that causes deep tissue burns requiring surgery, skin grafts, and months of painful recovery. Third-degree burns can cause permanent scarring and disfigurement.
Toxic gas inhalation is often more dangerous than the fire itself. Hydrogen fluoride and other compounds released during a battery fire attack the lungs, airways, and eyes. Victims who appear physically unharmed can suffer serious respiratory damage that does not fully manifest for hours.
If a fire begins while a vehicle is in motion, crash injuries compound everything. Spinal cord damage. Traumatic brain injury. Broken bones. The fire did not cause those. The defective battery system that caused the fire did.
McDonald & Cody handles cases involving all of these injuries. If the harm is serious and the cause traces back to a defective battery or charging system, call us.
Electric car battery fire cases almost always involve more than one defendant. The manufacturer of the battery cells may be liable if a cell was defective. The vehicle manufacturer may be liable if the battery management system failed to detect or interrupt the problem. A third-party charging equipment manufacturer may be liable if their charger overstressed the battery. A dealership or service provider may be liable if improper maintenance contributed to the failure.
Georgia product liability law allows claims based on three theories. A design defect claim says the product was dangerous as designed. A manufacturing defect claim says the specific unit that caused the harm was made incorrectly. A failure to warn claim says the manufacturer knew about the risk and did not adequately disclose it.
McDonald & Cody investigates the entire chain. They do not stop at the obvious defendant. They follow the evidence wherever it leads.
An EV battery fire case begins with preservation. The vehicle, the battery pack, the charging equipment, and all related data must be secured before the manufacturer or their insurer can inspect or remove anything. That window closes fast. McDonald & Cody moves immediately.
The vehicle’s onboard data system records a continuous log of battery state, temperature, charging history, and system alerts. That data can show exactly when the problem began, how long it progressed before the fire, and whether the vehicle’s safety systems should have caught it. Extracting and preserving that data requires specialists. McDonald & Cody works with battery engineers, fire investigators, and product liability experts who do this work at a level that holds up in federal court.
Jackson McDonald clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit for three years, writing opinions and working directly with federal judges. EV battery fire cases frequently involve large manufacturers whose cases can reach the appellate level. Jackson’s understanding of how those decisions get made is a direct advantage at the trial level, where strategy has to account for what happens if the case goes up on appeal.
EV battery fire cases are among the most technically complex in product liability law. Most law firms do not have the scientific knowledge, the expert relationships, or the financial resources to litigate them properly. McDonald & Cody does.
The manufacturers these cases are brought against are some of the largest corporations in the world. They have experienced legal teams, deep pockets, and a financial interest in paying as little as possible. Volume firms do not have the resources to match them. McDonald & Cody does. They do not settle because litigation is expensive. They settle when the number is right, and they go to trial when it is not.
We review every inquiry at no charge. If we can help, we will tell you. If we cannot, we will say so.
You pay nothing unless we win. We pay every litigation expense except medical bills.
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