You charged your phone with a trusted brand. You kept your power bank nearby, ready for your next trip. Then it happened—smoke, heat, or worse, flames. What was supposed to make your life easier just put you and your family at risk.
In November 2025, Belkin recalled over 83,500 portable power banks and wireless charging stands after reports of fires, burn injuries, and property damage totaling tens of thousands of dollars. If you or someone you love was hurt by one of these defective products, you have legal rights under Texas law.
The Belkin Recall: What Happened and Why It Matters
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Belkin’s BoostCharge 20K USB-C PD power banks (models BPB002 and PB0003) and the Auto-Tracking Stand Pro for iPhone (model MMA008) contain lithium-ion batteries that can overheat without warning. This creates serious fire and burn hazards for consumers.
These products were sold at major retailers including Best Buy, Target, and Walmart from August 2020 through August 2025, with prices ranging from $29 to $180. The recall came after one fire incident in the U.S., 15 international reports, two minor burn injuries, and $37,765 in property damage outside the United States.
What makes this particularly concerning is how long these products remained on store shelves before the recall was issued. Thousands of families may still have these dangerous devices in their homes, cars, or offices right now.
Why Lithium-Ion Batteries Can Be So Dangerous
Lithium-ion batteries power most of our portable electronics because they hold a lot of energy in a small space. However, when these batteries are poorly designed, cheaply manufactured, or inadequately tested, they can overheat and catch fire.
When a lithium battery fails, it can cause what experts call “thermal runaway”—a chain reaction where the battery gets hotter and hotter until it ignites. These fires burn extremely hot, spread quickly, and can be difficult to extinguish with standard fire extinguishers. Moreover, the toxic fumes from burning lithium batteries can cause serious respiratory injuries.
Similar defective product cases involving lithium batteries have resulted in severe burns, house fires, vehicle fires, and even wrongful death. The damages in these cases have reached settlements and verdicts up to $45 million nationwide.
Your Legal Rights Under Texas Product Liability Law
If you were injured or suffered property damage from a defective Belkin power bank, Texas law gives you the right to seek compensation. Under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 82, manufacturers and sellers can be held liable when their products are defective and cause harm.
Texas follows what’s called strict liability for product defects. This means you don’t have to prove the company was careless or negligent. You only need to show:
- The product was defective
- The defect existed when it left the manufacturer
- The defect caused your injuries or damages
There are three types of defects recognized under Texas law:
Design Defects: The product was designed in a way that makes it unreasonably dangerous, even when manufactured correctly.
Manufacturing Defects: Something went wrong during production, causing this specific unit to be dangerous.
Marketing Defects: The company failed to provide adequate warnings about the risks of using the product.
The Belkin power bank recall likely involves design or manufacturing defects related to the battery’s thermal management system. The fact that Belkin issued a recall is strong evidence that the company recognized these products were defective.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Your Injuries?
Texas law allows you to pursue compensation from multiple parties in the supply chain. In a Belkin power bank case, potentially liable parties include:
- Belkin International, Inc. (the manufacturer and brand owner)
- Battery component manufacturers (if the battery itself was defectively designed or made)
- Retailers (in certain circumstances, particularly if they sold the product after the recall)
- Distributors who placed the product into the stream of commerce
Having an experienced personal injury attorney investigate your case is crucial because identifying all liable parties can significantly impact the compensation you recover.
Types of Compensation Available to Victims
If you were injured by a defective Belkin power bank, you may be entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages under Texas law.
Economic damages include:
- Medical bills for burn treatment, emergency care, and surgery
- Future medical expenses for ongoing treatment and rehabilitation
- Property damage to your home, vehicle, or other belongings
- Lost wages if you missed work due to your injuries
- Loss of earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work
Non-economic damages compensate you for:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and trauma
- Disfigurement from burn scars
- Loss of enjoyment of life
In cases involving particularly reckless behavior by the manufacturer, Texas law also allows for punitive damages under certain circumstances. These are designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar conduct in the future.
The Clock Is Ticking: Texas Statute of Limitations
Understanding your deadline to file a lawsuit is critical. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, you have two years from the date of your injury to file a product liability lawsuit.
Missing this deadline means losing your right to compensation forever, no matter how severe your injuries or how clear the manufacturer’s fault. That’s why it’s essential to evaluate whether you have a personal injury case as soon as possible after your injury.
Additionally, Texas law includes a 15-year statute of repose, meaning claims generally cannot be brought more than 15 years after the product was first sold. Given that these Belkin products were sold starting in August 2020, victims still have time—but you shouldn’t wait.
How Joe Zaid Can Help Defective Product Victims
Joe Zaid, founder of Joe I. Zaid & Associates, is a seasoned personal injury attorney whose client-centered approach delivers results. Since 2013, Joe has represented thousands of clients in personal injury and wrongful death cases and has recovered millions of dollars in settlements, including numerous seven-figure settlements on behalf of individual clients.
Joe specializes in personal injury cases ranging from minor impact collisions to those resulting in life-altering injuries. He was nominated by H-Texas Magazine as one of Houston’s Top Lawyers and was also nominated as a Top 40 under 40 Trial Lawyer. He is an active member of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association and Texas Trial Lawyers Association.
When you work with our firm on a defective product case, we handle every aspect of your claim:
- Conducting a thorough investigation to determine what went wrong
- Preserving critical evidence, including the defective product itself
- Working with engineering experts who can explain technical defects to a jury
- Identifying all liable parties and available insurance coverage
- Negotiating aggressively with insurance companies and corporate defendants
- Taking your case to trial if necessary to secure full compensation
We understand that product recalls often come too late for victims who have already been hurt. Our goal is to hold manufacturers accountable and help you rebuild your life after a preventable injury.
Take Action to Protect Your Rights
If you own one of the recalled Belkin products, stop using it immediately. Contact Belkin at 800-223-5546 or visit their website to receive a full refund or 120% store credit. Do not throw the recalled lithium-ion battery in regular trash—take it to a municipal household hazardous waste collection center.
If you were injured or suffered property damage from a defective Belkin power bank or charging stand, don’t wait to get legal help. The manufacturers and their insurance companies have lawyers protecting their interests from day one. You deserve experienced representation fighting for yours.
Contact Joe I. Zaid & Associates today for a free consultation.
Joe I. Zaid & Associates Office: (346) 756-9243 4710 Vista Rd. Suite E Pasadena, TX 77505 https://joezaid.com
We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win your case. Call us now to discuss your legal options and protect your rights under Texas law.
