In March of this year, a lawsuit was filed against Apple in the District Court of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which went to federal district court this week. Plaintiff Michael Macaluso claims his home was burned down due to an iPad’s electrical and battery systems.
Allstate Insurance paid more than $ 142,000 to renovate Michael Macaluso’s fire-damaged home. Now he has hired a law firm to seek compensation from Apple.
The lawsuit alleges that Macaluso did not modify, misuse, or make any changes to his iPad beyond the expected use that Apple envisioned.
A similar lawsuit was filed against Apple in 2019 on behalf of Julia Ireland Meo, a New Jersey resident; whose father died in an apartment fire allegedly caused by a faulty iPad battery.
The owner of the residential complex in which the fire occurred, through his insurance company, subsequently filed a second lawsuit against Apple, demanding reimbursement of payments. The claims are still pending.
It is worth to mention that this kind of accidents are not exclusive for the iPad, we had seen several cases with the battery of the iPhone as well.
Apple-branded charger for iPhone caught fire in the middle of the night right in bed
It is worth mentioning that recently, a 17-year-old girl called Amy Hall from Birmingham, England reported that her iPhone charger caught fire and set a blanket on fire.
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The incident happened on the night of March 18, when Amy Hall went to bed. She plugged her iPhone into a charger and left it on the bed next to her. After some time, the girl suddenly noticed a flame right on her blanket and received a burn on her cheek. Amy called her mother, with whom they put out the fire without calling the firefighters.
Amy Hall shared photos of her bedding and melted charging cable on Facebook; which once again demonstrates what the habit of leaving your smartphone next to your bed overnight can lead to. Modern smartphones and chargers have technologies to protect against power surges, overheating, and so on. However, not all manufacturers produce the same quality products.
The Birmingham Mail suggested that the girl was using an Apple-branded charging cable and a different brand of power supply, but Amy Hall claims the opposite: “It was not some cheap charger – this is an Apple-branded adapter. Please do not leave your phone charging at night”.
Apple is currently investigating the cause of the fire. The company recommends that you do not charge your iPhone in humid or poorly ventilated areas. This could cause the charger to overheat. The company also advised to regularly check accessories for damage.
