My iPhone 5 burned my leg. 2nd degree burns

Sublime2696 · May 30, 2013

I accidentally spilled water on my iPhone 5. It was sitting on my coffee table and I spilled a bottle of water on the table and it got my phone wet. It wasnt completely submerged in water, just wet. I immediately dried it off and the phone was still working fine. I thought I had salvaged it. I put it in my pocket and fell asleep without thinking much of it. A while later i was awoken by a burning sensation on my leg. I pulled my burning hot iphone out of my pocket and put it down as it was quite hot. I then looked at my leg and had burns in the shape of the rectangular iPhone. Once the phone had cooled a bit, I picked it up and it wasn't working. I figured water damage so I've had it in rice now for about 30 hours, but with the combo of water damage and the phone overheating to the point that it burned me, I think the phone is fried.

I posted the pics of my burned leg. One was taken a few hours after it happened, and the other is about 24 hours after. The burn has blistered.

I don't have insurance on my phone and apples warranty doesn't cover water damage. I'm not going to demand anything from apple as the phone getting wet was my fault, but the fact that it gave me 2nd degree burns definitely concerns me.

And please don't start yelling lawsuit because I'm not suing apple lol. I'm going to report it to apple and see what they say. My apple store is only about 30 min away.

Anyone ever hear of anything similar to this happening??

JoeFkling · May 30, 2013

bummer about the burns. But in this situation, you used the device in a manner not intended by spilling water on it. Whether accidental or not. I say just learn from it and move on.

-aggie- · May 30, 2013

Uh, YOU spilled water on your iPhone. You've got nothing to report, since YOU damaged the phone, which unfortunately damaged you, since water and batteries don't mix well.

You can get a new phone by paying $199 for an out-of-warranty replacement.

Paddle1 · May 30, 2013

It would have got a temperature warning, you should have turned it off.

Skika · May 30, 2013

Wow you should sue Apple!

abz1981 · May 30, 2013

Cool story dude. So you joined mac rumors today to tell us all about this?

Shrink · May 30, 2013

Skika said:
Wow you should sue Apple!

Don't mean to be snarky...but did you read the OP?

dejo · May 30, 2013

Sublime2696 said:
but the fact that it gave me 2nd degree burns definitely concerns me.

Has a doctor confirmed this diagnosis?

-aggie- · May 30, 2013

Shrink said:
Don't mean to be snarky...but did you read the OP?

Did you see the sarcasm smiley?

barkomatic · May 30, 2013

I think you should report the incident to Apple. Although you spilled water on it that shouldn't result in burns. However, don't expect a huge payout or anything. You *may* get a free replacement at the most--but be more careful next time!

SnowLeopard2008 · May 30, 2013

Apple isn't responsible for this. If you went out and bought a car, crashed it due to you drunk driving or something is directly caused by you, would X car maker be responsible because the car injured you? No. Now, if the car spontaneously caught fire without being improperly used/damaged and burned you, then it's a concern.

Sublime2696 · May 30, 2013

dejo said:
Has a doctor confirmed this diagnosis?

No. I didn't go to a doctor as a 2nd degree burn isn't worth it. But here's the second pic of the blister.

Shrink · May 30, 2013

-aggie- said:
Did you see the sarcasm smiley?

Yes, as you correctly point out, there was a sarcasm smiley.

However, the OP specifically asked that suing not be suggested.

I guess I didn't see the enormous humor in it...

Call me cranky...:

sviato · May 30, 2013

I'm going to go offtopic and say: why sleep in pants and with your phone

gnasher729 · May 30, 2013

Sublime2696 said:
I accidentally spilled water on my iPhone 5. ... I'm wondering if apple would do anything for me? I don't have insurance on my phone and apples warranty doesn't cover water damage. I'm not going to demand anything from apple as the phone getting wet was my fault, but the fact that it gave me 2nd degree burns definitely concerns me.

So what did they tell you in school what happens when you combine electricity and water? Here's what the iPhone manual says:

Important safety information

WARNING: Failure to follow these safety instructions could result in fire, electric shock, or other injuries, or damage to iPhone or other property. Read all the safety information below before using iPhone.

Handling Handle iPhone with care. It is made of metal, glass, and plastic and has sensitive electronic components inside. iPhone can be damaged if dropped, burned, punctured, or crushed, or if it comes in contact with liquid. Dont use a damaged iPhone, such as one with a cracked screen, as it may cause injury. If youre concerned about scratching, consider using a case.

abz1981 · May 30, 2013

gnasher729 said:
So what did they tell you in school what happens when you combine electricity and water? Here's what the iPhone manual says:

Important safety information

WARNING: Failure to follow these safety instructions could result in fire, electric shock, or other injuries, or damage to iPhone or other property. Read all the safety information below before using iPhone.

Handling Handle iPhone with care. It is made of metal, glass, and plastic and has sensitive electronic components inside. iPhone can be damaged if dropped, burned, punctured, or crushed, or if it comes in contact with liquid. Dont use a damaged iPhone, such as one with a cracked screen, as it may cause injury. If youre concerned about scratching, consider using a case.

Good find Sherlock

I guess OP best option for you is to take it to the genius and get it replaced for $200 or however much it is in the US.

Mrbobb · May 30, 2013

Nothing to do. Count your blessings damage (to you) not permanent.

lordofthereef · May 30, 2013

Boy, people sure don't read the original post. Nowhere does the OP say he wants, expects, or demands anything from Apple. But I am willing to bet that if he shows them the phone and his blisters, they will do something for him. No, it isn't Apple's fault, but it sucks that it happened either way. And if they do nothing, sounds like he is cool with that too.

Intell · May 30, 2013

lordofthereef said:
Boy, people sure don't read the original post. Nowhere does the OP say he wants, expects, or demands anything from Apple. But I am willing to bet that if he shows them the phone and his blisters, they will do something for him. No, it isn't Apple's fault, but it sucks that it happened either way. And if they do nothing, sounds like he is cool with that too.

In the original post, since edited, he did.

SnowLeopard2008 · May 30, 2013

lordofthereef said:
Boy, people sure don't read the original post. Nowhere does the OP say he wants, expects, or demands anything from Apple. But I am willing to bet that if he shows them the phone and his blisters, they will do something for him. No, it isn't Apple's fault, but it sucks that it happened either way. And if they do nothing, sounds like he is cool with that too.

His OP says he was concerned that he got 2nd degree burns. Which suggests he doesn't in fact understand that electronic devices mixed with water will injure you.

lordofthereef · May 30, 2013

Intell said:
In the original post, since edited, he did.

Thanks for the correction. In this case, I am wrong. It just seems people like to jump down people's throats, especially if it's to defend their favorite company. I guess with this thread, the joke's on me.

----------

SnowLeopard2008 said:
His OP says he was concerned that he got 2nd degree burns. Which suggests he doesn't in fact understand that electronic devices mixed with water will injure you.

I'd be concerned about getting second degree burns too, regardless of who's fault it was. Burns are... concerning. People are making it seem like it is the norm to get your phone wet and have the battery blow up on you. I'd say no, that's not.

But anyway, I have been corrected. It seems he changed his post after the fact. My bad.

itjw · May 30, 2013

Hey guys:

I broke the window on my car into a bunch of really sharp pieces! I taped them all up (figuring I was good) but while headbanging to my favorite tunes I gashed my head wide open on the window....

I'm not going to sue Lexus, but I'm going to take it in and see what they think.

Sublime2696 · May 30, 2013

lordofthereef said:
Thanks for the correction. In this case, I am wrong. It just seems people like to jump down people's throats, especially if it's to defend their favorite company. I guess with this thread, the joke's on me.

----------

I'd be concerned about getting second degree burns too, regardless of who's fault it was. Burns are... concerning. People are making it seem like it is the norm to get your phone wet and have the battery blow up on you. I'd say no, that's not.

But anyway, I have been corrected. It seems he changed his post after the fact. My bad.

I did edit out the sentence "I wonder if apple will do anything for me?". I edited it out as I don't want to come across as demanding something from apple for nothing. That's all I changed.

SnowLeopard2008 · May 30, 2013

lordofthereef said:
Thanks for the correction. In this case, I am wrong. It just seems people like to jump down people's throats, especially if it's to defend their favorite company. I guess with this thread, the joke's on me.

----------

I'd be concerned about getting second degree burns too, regardless of who's fault it was. Burns are... concerning. People are making it seem like it is the norm to get your phone wet and have the battery blow up on you. I'd say no, that's not.

But anyway, I have been corrected. It seems he changed his post after the fact. My bad.

Well you should know the potential consequences. This isn't some obscure, very rare occurrence. We all (okay, not ALL all) know that we shouldn't mix water and lithium batteries. Burns are indeed a cause for concern. But the way he wrote his post (at least to my eyes) seemed like he didn't know the consequences. Just my 2 cents.

lordofthereef · May 30, 2013

Sublime2696 said:
I did edit out the sentence "I wonder if apple will do anything for me?". I edited it out as I don't want to come across as demanding something from apple for nothing. That's all I changed.

Well, the back and forth is pointless. Anyway, not a single person, IMO, has responded to this thread with a lick of useful information. But that's a given, this is Mac Rumors, and when Apple comes into question most people here defend them like a newborn baby.

Take the phone in, explain your situation, and see what they do. When I ran my iPhone 4 through the wash the night that it launched I took it in, told them the truth, and they felt bad; I was only charged $100 (rather than $200) for the replacement. I didn't expect a thing from them.

Worst case scenario, grab some silvadene ointment for the burn, spend the $229 to replace the phone, and don't sleep with a soggy phone on your hip.

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SnowLeopard2008 said:
Well you should know the potential consequences. This isn't some obscure, very rare occurrence. We all (okay, not ALL all) know that we shouldn't mix water and lithium batteries. Burns are indeed a cause for concern. But the way he wrote his post (at least to my eyes) seemed like he didn't know the consequences. Just my 2 cents.

Listen, he spilled a bottle of water, on a table, where the iPhone sat. I think most people in this occurrence wouldn't expect the thing to have gotten wet enough to do what it did. There are WAY more threads regarding full submersion stories that worked out than there are of stories of batteries having a chemical meltdown. I am just saying, lighten up on the guy. If you don't feel you were harsh on him, you have absolutely no reason to respond to my post, as you wouldn't feel I was talking to you in the first place, right?

My iPhone 5 burned my leg. 2nd degree burns

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