An exploding phone left a Swiss teenager with second and third degree burns, after it caught fire in her pocket.
18-year-old Fanny Schlatter allegedly had her Samsung Galaxy S3 in her trousers as she was at work when the smartphone spontaneously combusted.
Ms Schlatter is now set to being legal proceedings against Samsung, as she has no feeling in her right thigh after the incident, which it is thought started when the battery exploded.
Le Matin, a French language newspaper, reports that Ms Schlatter was working as an apprentice painting when the large bang originally startled her.
Schlatter stated , “All of a sudden I heard the sound of an explosion, like a firecracker. Then I noticed a strange chemical smell and my work trousers began to catch fire.”
Stephanie Kubler, Ms Schlatter’s boss, then raced to her assistance, but by this point the huge flames had reached up to her shoulders. Various colleagues then repeatedly covered her in water, after they relocated Ms Schlatter to the nearest bathroom.
After they had put the fire out, they then drove her to the hospital. Ms Schlatter noted, “Luckily my hair was tied up and my sweater didn’t have time to catch fire.”
However, despite the lucky escape, the teenager has also declared that her burns are still very severe, and have left her smelling like a “burnt pig.” At the moment she is still unable to generate any feeling in her right thigh.
As you would expect, Ms Schlatter is currently making plans to make a legal complaint against Samsung. A spokesperson for the company responded by saying, “Once we have gotten hold of the product in question, we will conduct a thorough examination to determine the exact cause of this incident.”
They then added, “We would like to assure our customers that we have always employed strict quality control and safety standards to ensure a safe and pleasant user experience.”
Do you trust your phone?
[Image via nyanza/Shutterstock]