A family in Ohio has sued Apple, accusing the company of negligently building a second-generation iPod Touch MP3 player that ultimately exploded in their 15-year-old son's pocket while he was at school.
In the 14-page suit filed in the Southern District of Ohio Court, Lynette Antrobus purchased a 16GB iPod Touch late last year, and her son had it just two weeks before it exploded, set his pants on fire, and caused second degree burns when it melted through to his leg. The teenager "heard a loud pop and immediately felt a burning sensation in his leg," the complaint against Apple reads.
Furthermore, the boy "realized his Apple iTouch (sic) 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," according to the court filing.
The family is now seeking more than 225,000 in compensatory and punitive damages in the case, as he's suffering from "physical and mental conditions which will cause him to suffer pain, mental distress, emotional distress, and otherwise for the rest of his life."
Even though hearing news about exploding devices seem to happen more often than we'd like, most of the time it's caused by cheap, poorly made batteries the user chooses. But the battery in the iPod Touch cannot be replaced by user -- and must be sent to Apple -- so this case has an added twist that will need to be considered during the legal proceedings.
