Aug 4, 2014 - Product Liability by Justin Roberts
We have all heard about the dangers of cell phone usage; people texting and driving causing a wreck or even not looking up from their cell phone and being hit by a car while walking. Another danger we have heard regarding our cell phone is radiation. Can a cell phone give you cancer?
Well, throw in a new danger to using your cell phone… your phone exploding. Now, we have all heard about people saying their phone exploded, meaning they got a lot of phone calls. It’s probably rare that you have heard somebody say their phone exploded, and they actually mean it blew up.
Unfortunately, this appears to be a new trend. According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, it received over 83 reports of cell phones blowing up or catching fire in the past two years.
Reports include a California teenager who suffered burns when her cell phone caught fire in her pants. According to first responders, the phone burst into a “fist-size flame.” Another cell phone exploded in a backseat near a child, throwing parts of the cell phone into the car but fortunately avoiding the child.
The cell phone industry of course denies any responsibility. They blame the explosions, if any, on counterfeit cell phone batteries. They also claim that if these explosions are happening, they are very rare.
Many consumer activists dispute the telephone manufacturers’ claims. They note that some reports of cell phones exploding occurred within a relatively short term after the phone was purchased. Therefore, there was not enough time for the original factory battery to need to be replaced by a counterfeit battery or time for extended battery abuse.
Some people believe that coins or keys may be a source of the problem. These metal objects can come into contact with metal tags used in cell phone batteries and may potentially cause the batteries to overheat.
Others blame the lithium batteries in cell phones. One expert noted that gases inside a lithium battery can actually start to expand causing the cell phone to burst or even explode.
Other problems are that cell phone batteries are abused. They are left charging overnight which can cause the battery and/or phone to endure excessive heat.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission advises you to only use chargers designed for your particular phone. The CPSC also wants consumers to be alert for knockoff or counterfeit accessories. These counterfeit accessories are cheaply made and may lack many of the safety devices that brand name cell phones have, including safety functions to detect overheating and prevent an explosion.
For nearly 30 years, the personal injury and defective product attorneys of Roberts and Roberts have fought to hold manufacturers accountable for the products they manufacture. From the Firestone tire to accelerating cars, the personal injury attorneys of Roberts and Roberts have been in the forefront of not only protecting consumers, but forcing manufacturers to make safer products.
If you, or someone you know or love, have been injured by an unsafe product, car crash, motorcycle accident, or collision with a commercial vehicle… call Roberts and Roberts. The call costs you nothing… it could mean everything.
Justin is an attorney at Roberts & Roberts and focuses his practice on mass tort litigation, where he specializes in helping individuals who are harmed by recalled or unsafe pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices. He has earned recognition as a “Top 40 Under 40” Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers. Prior to joining Roberts & Roberts, Justin served as an attorney in all three branches of Texas’s state government, including as a Briefing Attorney on the Texas Supreme Court. He also represented electric and natural gas utilities in complex regulatory proceedings before the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Railroad Commission of Texas. Justin is a published author in the St. Mary’s Law Journal.