AfterDawn: News

'Exploding' iPod Touch leads to lawsuit

Apple has been sued this week by the mother of a 15 year old boy who said his iPod Touch exploded while in his pants pocket, scorching his leg.

According to the complaint, the boy was sitting in class one day and "heard a loud pop and immediately felt a burning sensation in his leg."



The boy then "realized his Apple iTouch had exploded and caught on fire in his pocket. ....Plaintiff A. V. immediately ran to the bathroom and took off his burning pants with the assistance of a friend. The Apple iTouch had burned through Plaintiff A. V.'s pants pocket and melted through his Nylon/Spandex underwear, burning his leg," reads the complaint.

Plaintiff A.V has suffered second-degree burns thanks to the 'exploding' iPod Touch and is now seeking $225,000 in compensatory damages.

Apple has declined comment on the case.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Mar 2009 12:12

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• 27 comments

• bredbury

  thats ridiculous why would the need 225 thousand it just burnt his leg a little i would just ask them to give me a macbook and a new ipod

  15.3.2009 12:19 #1

• dragnandy

  Originally posted by bredbury: thats ridiculous why would the need 225 thousand it just burnt his leg a little i would just ask them to give me a macbook and a new ipod
  because that's how people are today, sadly.

  15.3.2009 12:49 #2

• amf0802

  The enormous sum is absurd, even 50k would be way too much.
  
  But what I found the most surprising is that the kid was wearing nylon and spandex underwear....was he wearing under-armor as underwear?

  15.3.2009 14:33 #3

• varnull

  I got hit by a car.. drunk driver.. I was off work for 7 months, lost my house, my job and most of my possessions..
  
  compensation 2k
  
  pure greed. give him a new pair of pants and tell him to be more careful where he keeps it in future.

  15.3.2009 14:38 #4

• wolf123

  I would go for broke and really get comped like 2 million who cares how much he gets but he should get a rediculous amount because we all know Apple can afford it.

  15.3.2009 14:40 #5

• TheJoxter

  Quote:Originally posted by bredbury: thats ridiculous why would the need 225 thousand it just burnt his leg a little i would just ask them to give me a macbook and a new ipod
  because that's how people are today, sadly.Normally I would agree but in this case since it's Apple getting a punitive poke in the eye and since they've got away with murder before as far as faulty products go I think this is warranted. Good luck greedy little kid!

  15.3.2009 16:13 #6

• Leningrad

  thats too much, yeah apple is greedy i know but that little kid is too.

  15.3.2009 17:41 #7

• Azuran

  Quote:his Nylon/Spandex underwearlol wut?

  15.3.2009 17:53 #8

• inagasake

  Why did the iPod Touch explode in his pocket?
  
  I don't see anything wrong with the kid suing Apple to compensate for the second-degree burns but $225k is way too much. Not that I give a damn. I don't own any shares in Apple.

  15.3.2009 18:57 #9

• GryphB

  I think just the amount owed for medical attention and services would be required. Nowadays, people sue for ungodly amounts they never deserve.

  15.3.2009 19:08 #10

• Iecur

  Hmm...I guess we all know that the family has medical insurance to cover the costs that that seems like too much ? Or lawyer costs ? Especially since they are going up against such a big company.
  I'd personally want more if my pants were ruined. Then again the amount of stuff I carry in my pants is ridiculous.

  15.3.2009 20:27 #11

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by inagasake: Why did the iPod Touch explode in his pocket?
  
  I don't see anything wrong with the kid suing Apple to compensate for the second-degree burns but $225k is way too much. Not that I give a damn. I don't own any shares in Apple.Ya and if it happened to you you too would want acouple 100K, its called reasonable balance. If corporate interest can not be levied against via high fines through the courts then they can willfully rape the popualce until their government fck buddy comes in and forces them to play nice.

  16.3.2009 04:34 #12

• DoggRuff

  Quote:Originally posted by inagasake: Why did the iPod Touch explode in his pocket?
  
  I don't see anything wrong with the kid suing Apple to compensate for the second-degree burns but $225k is way too much. Not that I give a damn. I don't own any shares in Apple.Ya and if it happened to you you too would want acouple 100K, its called reasonable balance. If corporate interest can not be levied against via high fines through the courts then they can willfully rape the popualce until their government fck buddy comes in and forces them to play nice.Very good point and keep in mind, while the amount requested is very high, it is demands like these that force companies to spend the extra effort in improving safety in their technology.

  16.3.2009 09:08 #13

• inagasake

  From a rational standpoint, 225k is excessive but I did say that I don't really care about how much Apple gets sued. I'm not an Apple Shareholder and considering that companies like them pay off politicians to get laws passed in their favor all the time (ie. DMCA), Apple can get sued out of business for all I care. You bet I would be out to sue Apple for as much as I could. Who wouldn't? Corporations are out to get theirs out of rational self-interest, the customer and employee be damned. So I see nothing wrong with average Joes trying to play the same game.

  16.3.2009 12:09 #14

• magnets

  How come only one other user has raised an eyebrow at
  "nylon/spandex" underwear.
  
  As far as i know there's only two types of people who wear that.
  Athletes and superheros.
  
  
  "Never fear 'tis I! The APPLE AVENGER"
  (makes thrusting motions till pants explode)

  16.3.2009 20:26 #15

• scorpNZ

  Does the small print legalise mention not to have pod in pants or such like as overheating can cause battery to explode ?,if so the twit has no leg to stand on,pity he didn't lose the leg as that was a wasted joke right there :p

  16.3.2009 20:33 #16

• prutsos

  yeah well mabey 2500 but not a quarter of a mill hot damn

  17.3.2009 02:23 #17

• DXR88

  if my leg got burned by a faulty product Id Sue for 500k or go on a apple CEO Man hunt.

  17.3.2009 15:13 #18

• censored1

  well the greedy ones are the parents.
  And probably this was intentional..
  because the people that i know that have a itouch
  never talked about and exploding itouch it's all a hoax.

  17.3.2009 16:26 #19

• Gr3m

  Quote:And probably this was intentional..
  because the people that i know that have a itouch
  never talked about and exploding itouch it's all a hoax.How could this be intentional????
  the kid had his ipod in his pocket he accitdentally turns it on and for some reason his battery leaks and heats up the back so much that it burns his leg. its happened to me before but i didnt get burned. its called a faulty battery
  
  Quote:Does the small print legalise mention not to have pod in pants or such like as overheating can cause battery to explode ?,if so the twit has no leg to stand on,pity he didn't lose the leg as that was a wasted joke right there :pdude ipods are made to be put into pockets. or they wouldnt keep trying to make them smaller

  21.3.2009 16:52 #20

• cleverick

  Originally posted by Leningrad: thats too much, yeah apple is greedy i know but that little kid is too.
  Maybe the kid will work for Apple. lol

  21.3.2009 16:53 #21

• hermes_vb

  Gives a whole new meaning to blowout sale...LOL

  22.3.2009 01:37 #22

• chrissd

  Originally posted by DXR88: if my leg got burned by a faulty product Id Sue for 500k or go on a apple CEO Man hunt.Manhunt ftw! So much more fun than sueing =P lol
  
  This is Apple we're talking about. Lawyer costs alone are going to be huge. Apple is a company who: Stole the main logo, has dodgy business practices, locks customers into a platform, then sues companies like MS over locking customers into a platform. See recent EU case.
  
  Apple is a big company, making big money, who have awesome lawyers. The kid has no hope. Nice try though. I'd personally sue for more, but don't think I could afford the lawyers needed in the first place. 'Sides, sueing for 2.5K? A mega company that stuffs up and you'd sue for 2.5K? *shakes head* Somme people..
  
  @ the nylon/spandex o.0
  
  Isn't that material used in swim togs?

  24.3.2009 23:47 #23

• core2kid

  he probably had it on in some tight case or attempted to mod it with an aftermarket battery. these things don't just randomly explode.

  25.3.2009 22:29 #24

• DXR88

  Originally posted by core2kid: he probably had it on in some tight case or attempted to mod it with an aftermarket battery. these things don't just randomly explode.all battery's can explode if the right conditions are met.
  
  
  A short sending voltage back into the battery, is the most common and more than likely what happen in this case.
  
  it would save companies so much money to include a warning label for the battery type like this: this device contains (battery name here) and is known to explode and/or cause harmful injury or death (such as plastic pieces threw the neck ~.~).
  

  
  

  25.3.2009 22:48 #25

• core2kid

  Quote:Originally posted by core2kid: he probably had it on in some tight case or attempted to mod it with an aftermarket battery. these things don't just randomly explode.all battery's can explode if the right conditions are met.
  
  
  A short sending voltage back into the battery, is the most common and more than likely what happen in this case.
  
  it would save companies so much money to include a warning label for the battery type like this: this device contains (battery name here) and is known to explode and/or cause harmful injury or death (such as plastic pieces threw the neck ~.~).
  Nobody would buy the product then

  25.3.2009 23:24 #26

• DXR88

  You actually think people read that stuff, hell put it the user manual ether way it saves the companies ass.

  25.3.2009 23:52 #27