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When a consumer purchases a product, they expect the product to be in excellent working condition and have a warranty to protect them from any loss in case the product does not last that long.
Burned and Disfigured by an Exploding Galaxy Note 7
Upon purchasing the product, a consumer expects the product to work safely without causing any harm to them or those around them.
However, recently, many incidents of product defects have surfaced that caused damage or harm to the product owner upon appropriate use.
One such incident that caught the attention of the worldwide media was the case of the exploding Galaxy Note 7.
The product and the company had violated all expectations of consumers when the product did not work properly and soon started to explode, causing burn injuries to many. These lithium-ion batteries are causing so many e-cigarettes and Juul vape explosions worldwide.
When product defects, manufacturing faults, and fraudulent marketing gimmicks cause harm to a person, the victim can hold the company responsible for any damage by hiring top-rated trial lawyers.
Ehline Law and our product liability lawyer can help provide you with sound legal advice. They know all the relevant laws and will aggressively pursue your personal injury case to obtain fair compensation, including lost wages, medical bills, and other damages. If we can’t settle during insurance company negotiations, the lawsuit filed on your behalf by our firm will be built upon years of compassionate, aggressive legal experience in Los Angeles County courtrooms.
The Exploding Lithium-ion Batteries: When it All Started
Around July 2016, social media saw a frenzy of worried consumers posting about the newly released, overheating Samsung Galaxy Note 7. There were a total of 92 reports made directly to the cell phone manufacturer Samsung about their phone batteries overheating and catching fire. This isn’t the only smartphone prone to disastrous explosions leading to severe burns. Recently another lawsuit alleged a Galaxy S6 Active threw flames at least five-inch, severely burning a user and leaving them with “melted flesh.”
Around 26 of these reports included burn injuries to the consumers, while the remaining were reports of product damage. These unfortunate incidents resulted in Samsung asking their loyal consumers to contact their consumer product safety commission department for any emergency services over this dangerous product.
The company also rolled out a list that mentioned the devices eligible for a refund or a replacement phone. Consumers could feed the product ID mentioned on the back of their smartphones onto the Samsung website to determine if they were eligible for any.
The list was extensive and included 97% of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones sold in the United States. The company had to provide a refund or replacement and source a new battery for their Samsung model, which the third party initially deemed entirely safe.
Consumers found relief in the action that Samsung had taken to replace their phones and started to apply for replacements. However, upon receiving the new replacement phones, the problem did not stop, and there were new incidents of explosions and fires. It was about time people reached out to Galaxy Note 7 explosion lawyers and filed lawsuits against the tech giant to compensate them for their loss.
The Start of Legal Lawsuits against Samsung
In September, the first of many lawsuits started to take place. Johnathon Strobel, aged 28 and a resident of Florida, was the first to file a lawsuit involving the phone’s combustible battery against the cell phone maker, Samsung.
Strobel explained in his lawsuit that the phone had exploded in his front pocket at Costco, where he worked. Strobel’s lawyer mentioned that their victim had deep and extensive second-degree burns on his thigh.
While on duty, Strobel started to feel his thigh getting hotter to the point that it had become unbearable. He went on to reach for the phone with his left hand, and upon impact, the phone exploded in the pocket, damaging his thigh and left hand.
Strobel’s lawyer argued that his client faced severe injuries and some permanent disabilities, resulting in pain and suffering, emotional trauma, lost wages, medical bills, and other damages. This incident forced Samsung to work with the US consumer product safety commission on officially recalling the cell phones in the United States to prevent any further harm.
A List of Samsung Phone Incidents
Although Strobel was the first lawsuit, it was not the first incident that harmed the consumer. Here is a list of incidents due to the faulty battery cells in the new Galaxy Note 7 Samsung phones.
- The faulty battery in the Samsung phone had sparked a fire on a Southwest Airlines flight waiting for takeoff, resulting in an immediate evacuation of the aircraft.
- The lithium-ion battery on Note 7 had caught fire in the bedroom of a Kentucky man who was sound asleep. However, the man woke up “vomiting black” due to suffocation.
- A 13-year-old girl suffered severe burns when a Galaxy Note 7 overheated in her hand and melted.
- A 19-year-old boy faced severe burn injuries when the phone exploded in his hand, causing immense pain and suffering.
- A woman woke up to her phone burning next to her face, causing panic in the house and resulting in her husband removing the melting phone using oven mitts.
A Total Recall
Soon after a few severe incidents started, the mobile phone manufacturer worked with the US consumer product safety commission to recall all the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones in the United States. Due to the high risk of battery malfunction, Samsung has also announced that they will no longer be manufacturing the Note 7.
By the end of October 2016, Samsung had recalled 1 million mobile phones from consumers, giving them a choice to either replace their phones with other Samsung Galaxy Note variants or receive a monetary incentive to purchase a phone from another cellphone manufacturer.
What Caused the Samsung Note 7 Phones to Catch Fire?
The public was in the dark about why the newly released Samsung Galaxy Note 7 cell phones were catching fire and exploding. However, four months later, after a total recall, Samsung completed its investigation into the exploding phone incident. It finally announced what the lithium-ion battery caused the phones to catch fire after overheating, sometimes in a pants pocket.
In total, there were two batches of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones that were faulty, and the reasons why the two batches had issues were completely different. Samsung announced that their first new device batch of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones had a design fault while the second batch had a battery and manufacturing defect.
Many believed the new batteries the manufacturer had placed in the new phones were causing overheating issues. However, that was not the case, as Samsung made it very clear that the design issues resulted in the negative and positive poles of the battery coming into contact with each other, a rare manufacturing process error resulting in heating problems.
What Does The FAA Say About Samsung Galaxy Note 7?
To prevent further incidents like this, a Samsung representative stated that they are implementing new testing standards and that their lithium-ion batteries now have to undergo much more stringent testing. Even airline passengers are being warned by the FAA not to use the Galaxy Note 7 when flying and never to pack it into luggage to prevent a fire aboard. The Federal Aviation Administration has banned this new product from all domestic flights, as it sees the Note 7 as a problem that can cause more than reports of property damage when they overheat, despite the recall by Samsung, Inc.
Who Is Liable for Product Defects?
Samsung knew the Note 7 battery cell plates contained in the batteries were under too much pressure, causing both positive and negative poles to contact, causing heat and, eventually, a fire explosion. The duty of care to provide safe products to consumers applies to everyone in the supply chain, including those making direct sales.
Whether it is the manufacturer who did not test their products thoroughly, a company that uses faulty parts to assemble the products or even the vendor who is selling the product without exercising care, they all have a duty of care to prevent any harm to consumers caused by their products.
The law requires the product’s design to be entirely safe for appropriate use. The product must also satisfy the extensive testing criteria before being released to the public for sale. The manufacturer must also be very clear about warning labels on their products and advise consumers on how to use them. If the seller is selling a defective product, they must market it so the consumer knows they are buying a faulty one.
The disastrous case of the exploding Galaxy Note 7, a much-awaited and hyped phone, provides sufficient evidence that the danger continues to exist even after the company tries to rectify its mistakes. To prevent such incidents, buyers and other individuals must exert extreme caution whenever they decide to buy any new product that may not have gone through stringent testing. Put a Note 7 in your hands till you know the consequential loss you could face, resulting in injury or even a wrongful death fatality claim in Los Angeles Superior Court.
We Win Big!
Our attorneys remain committed to providing excellent legal representation to all injured victims in California. During the initial free consultation, we will assess your case and provide you with the legal options to move forward. Ehline Law has successfully litigated over 3,000 cases and recovered over $150 million in damage.
Schedule a Free Confidential Case Evaluation With Galaxy Note 7 Explosion Lawyers Today!
Our experienced, aggressive attorneys are ready to fight for your rights and obtain the compensation you deserve, including handling lawsuits against Samsung and its exploding smartphone products. If you receive any injuries from using a product like Note 7s due to a defect, contact us at +(833) LETS-SUE for a free review of your case with our skilled product defect attorneys.
Contact us now for more information on how we can help with your injury case.
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