Lawyers representing two Australian men who say their Apple products overheated have filed lawsuits in Victoria, as the company says it is investigating an exploding iPhone and overheating Watch.
Law firm Carbone Lawyers began legal action for the men earlier this month, filing in Victorian County court.
The first claim is from Robert De Rose who claims that his iPhone X exploded in April 2019, leaving him with second degree burns.
De Rose’s claim states that he was sitting in his office when he heard a noise and then noticed a burning sensation on his leg. When he pulled it out, there was black smoke coming out of the corners.
Carbone Lawyers managing partner Tony Carbone told news.com.au that the man received severe second-degree burns and had been left with a 25 centimetre long scar on his leg.
“He wants to ensure this sort of incident doesn’t occur again – what happened to him wasn’t nice, it was very nasty but the reality is as bad as it was it could’ve been a lot worse,” he said.
“He gave the example of driving a car and in all probability an incident like this in a vehicle could have resulted in a nasty car accident and then you’re talking about loss of life.”
The second claim is from a man who claims that his Apple Watch Series 3 overheated and “burned his skin on his left wrist” in September 2020.
31-year-old David Borg said that he also suffered burns and psychiatric injuries as a result of the incident.
Both men are seeking compensation for the medical expenses and loss of income, claiming that the devices suffered a safety defect.
Apple told Gizmodo that it is investigating the matters and reiterated that safety is the company’s major concern.
While exploding devices stories pop up now and again, these so far seem to be isolated incidents.