If you’re interested in gadgets and technology, you may have already heard about the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall. These smartphones feature defective batteries which can overheat and ignite while they are being charged – and they aren’t the only defective Samsung products to recently cause accidents. Earlier this month, a six-year-old Brooklyn boy sustained injuries while using a Galaxy Core, another smartphone made by Samsung. Our Brooklyn burn injury lawyers have updates on the boy’s condition – and information about what to do if you or a loved one was burned while using or charging a defective Samsung smartphone.
Boy Burned in Brooklyn Explosion Accident with Defective Samsung Galaxy Core
Twenty years ago, parents might have sat their child down in front of the TV to keep them entertained. Today’s children – and adults – have mobile entertainment on the go in the form of smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and Samsung Galaxy Core. Kids can watch Sesame Street and other programs right in the palm of their hand – but in some cases, like that of 6-year-old Flatbush resident Kadim Lewis, this technology has come at a terrible cost.
“The child was watching videos on the phone,” explained the victim’s grandmother, Linda Lewis, “when the battery exploded.” According to Lewis, the explosion was powerful enough to “set off alarms in my house.” Kadim’s mother, Marcia, described the explosion as being “like fireworks in the house.”
According to Kadim’s grandfather, John Lewis, “He was playing with the phone because he always has the phone. Playing with it, [and] the phone started catching fire.”
“He threw it on the ground and ran outside,” Mr. Lewis continued. “The cops came, the fire truck came because the alarm inside went off.”
The Lewis family’s Brooklyn defective product accident occurred around 8:00 P.M. on Saturday, September 10. The family called 9-1-1 immediately, and the boy was transported to SUNY Downstate Medical Center for treatment of first degree burn injuries, which, in addition to being painful and tender, can cause swelling, discoloration, and peeling in the affected area. In severe cases like Kadim’s, hospitalization is necessary in order to help manage pain and dehydration, which is corrected with IV (intravenous) fluids. After a first degree burn victim has been discharged from the hospital, he or she may need to apply moisturizing creams for several days while the skin continues to heal.
Depending on the severity of the burn, the healing process generally takes about three to five days. According to a report by Tracee Carrasco of CBS2, the child was still wearing bandages 48 hours after he received treatment.
Kadim has been discharged from the hospital, and continues to recover at home. But while the boy’s physical injuries may heal in a matter of days, recovering from the mental distress caused by such a shocking and unexpected accident may prove more difficult, especially for a young child.
“He doesn’t want to see or go near any phones,” Linda Lewis said on Sunday, September 11. “He’s been crying to his mother.”
“He went to school,” Marcia Lewis said the following Monday. “But he was kind of timid because he doesn’t want to see no phone.”
Man’s Vehicle Damaged by Fire After Charging Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Ignites
Unlike other phones which have exploded or ignited in recent months, Kadim’s phone was in use – not charging – at the time of his accident, which has left the family baffled. Marcia Lewis said she was “watching everything while it happened.” No one in the family, least of all Kadim, had any reason to expect such a powerful or sudden accident with the outwardly normal phone.
In other cases, such as that of Florida resident Nathan Dornacher, the battery charging process was believed to be the cause of the explosion. In Dornacher’s accident, which occurred just days before Kadim’s, a charging Galaxy Note 7 – the model at the center of the current Samsung recall – exploded in the family Jeep, enveloping the vehicle in smoke and flames.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the Florida incident, and Dornacher maintained good humor, writing, “Not the barbecue I wanted on my day off” on Facebook; but had the accident occurred slightly later or earlier, or on a different day, someone could have been seriously hurt. And, even in the fortunate absence of physical injuries, the Dornacher family will still have to deal with the inconvenience and expense of property damage to their vehicle.
“That’s the last thought in my head,” said Dornacher, “is that a brand new device, something as simple as a phone, is going to burn down my car or house or hurt a family member.”
Contact a Brooklyn Burn Injury Attorney if You Were Hurt by Defective Samsung Products
If you recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, you should turn off the phone immediately and contact Samsung about getting a replacement. While less than one percent of the devices are thought to be affected, it is far better to be safe than sorry – especially when severe burn injuries are a potential risk.
To contact Samsung about getting a new phone, simply call 1-800-SAMSUNG – but not from your Galaxy Note 7. For your own safety, you should borrow a friend, family member, or coworker’s phone to make the call.
For the time being, airlines are instructing travelers to bring Galaxy Note 7s onboard only if they are turned off and disconnected from a charger. However, you should contact your airline for guidance, as regulations may be changed or updated at any time.
If you or a family member was injured after purchasing a defective smartphone, you should also contact a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 injury lawyer, like the experienced Brooklyn explosion injury attorneys of Sullivan & Galleshaw. We may be able to help you get compensated.
To set up a free legal consultation, call our law offices at (718) 747-9706 right away. We represent injury victims in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.