The Samsung Note 7’s notorious combustible battery issues have struck again. This time, it happened to 28-year-old Jonathan Strobel of Boca Raton, Florida. Reuters reports that Strobel has filed what could be the first in many lawsuits to come in the US that involves the Note 7’s rather nasty battery issues.
Jonathan Strobel stated that his Note 7 exploded inside his front pants pocket on September 9 in a Costco in Palm Beach Gardens, where the man works.
“His right thigh has a deep second-degree burn the size of the phone,” Keith Pierro, Strobel’s lawyer, told me, adding that Strobel’s left hand was also burnt. The Palm Beach Post reported that Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue described the phone as having melted inside Strobel’s pants.
Despite there being ninety-two reports in the US about the Note 7’s battery having overheated – twenty-six of them involving burns – Jonathan Strobel is the first person to file a lawsuit against Samsung.
The complaint states that Strobel suffered: “sustained serious and permanent bodily injuries resulting in pain and suffering, permanent impairment, disability, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of the enjoyment of life, expense of medical care and treatment, expense of hospitalization, lost wages, and ability to earn wages in the past and to be experienced in the future.”
Samsung initiated a recall on September 2 for the Note 7, a week before Strobel’s experience. While the self-initiated recall was necessary, it didn’t please Consumer Reports who was quick to say that Samsung should have worked with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission on an official recall.
On the same day as Strobel’s incident, Samsung and the CPSC did start working together officially and it was announced that users with the original Note 7 should power the device down and ask for an updated and confirmed-safe replacement.
The irony of the timing hasn’t been lost on anyone.
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