Ohio Man Alleges Apple iPhone XS Max Exploded In His Pants Pocket
A man from Ohio claims he was twice burned by Apple, first by an iPhone XS Max that allegedly caught fire in his pants pocket and injured his "buttocks region," and then again by poor customer service, both inside an Apple Store and over the phone. As a result, the man is contemplating legal action against Apple.
Pictures of the burnt iPhone XS Max show severe damage to the handset. It's most visible on the front display where more than half of the screen is charred and deformed, but there is also significant damage on the sides and back of the handset. Clearly something unfortunate happened, and according to the phone's owner, it happened rather abruptly while he was at work.
The man, who asked to be identified as Josh Hillard, told iDrop News that the incident took place on Wednesday, December 12, at his place of employment during a lunch break. Hillard explains that he felt the phone getting hot in his pocket and also felt a burning sensation, followed by the presence of green and yellow smoke.
Hillard said there was a female present in the break room when this occurred, so he ran to the bathroom before taking his pants off. He says one of his bosses heard him yelling and helped extinguish the fire. When the incident was over, he was left with a hole in his pants, fire extinguisher residue on his pants and shoes, and some pain from the ordeal. He also says he "inhaled A LOT of smoke."
Hillard's account of his interaction with Apple wasn't much more pleasant. According to Hillard's version of events, he took the burnt phone into an Apple Store and was left waiting for 40 minutes, after having already spent 20 minutes answering questions.
"After receiving this cold treatment with zero engagement from the team while waiting, I found a manager to locate the employee with my phone. The employee resurfaced with the phone already packaged and told me that they were going to send it back to the engineering team. The manager then came up to me and said that this is the only way that I could receive a replacement phone," Hillard says.
Hillard says he was not satisfied with how this all transpired, so he took back possession of the damaged phone, returned home with it, and called the Apple Care line.
"The specialist got information on the phone, incident, location, etc. I essentially started the entire process over again. I was sent an email and instructed to attach pictures of the damage to the phone, my clothes, and if there was any injury to also attach a picture of this," Hillard explains. "I stated that I would send pictures of the damaged phone and clothes, but that even if there had been a visible injury I would not be comfortable sending pictures of such sensitive regions of my body."
Hillard claims he was offered a new iPhone, but he also wants Apple to reimburse him for his ruined clothes and shoes. He also expects compensation for his wireless service, which he was not able to use while his phone is in limbo, and for his time discussing the matter with Apple.
