14 DAY TRIAL // The slide to answer feature of an iPhone 7 proved to be an unexpected bomb detonator for an English man whose Apple smartphone exploded the moment he swiped the screen to take a call.
42-year-old Lee Hayes from Southport, Merseyside, suffered what he described as heavy bleeding because his iPhone caught fire, leading to severe injuries and burns on his right hand. Hayes, who has a long darts career, says he’ll need to take some time off after the iPhone injured his hand and threw shards of glass into his fingers.
The English man had owned the iPhone for just 3 days, and at this moment, it’s not yet clear what might have caused the explosion, as critical details are not known for the time being.
Hayes hasn’t revealed whether the phone was charging or not, but judging from his statement, it was all because of overheating that caused the battery to explode, with the display breaking into pieces.
“I could have lost my hand or worse”
The iPhone 7 owner says it was all a very violent incident, and adds that he could have even lost his hand or worse had he brought the device closer to his ear to answer the call.
“It was on the bench in the kitchen and I heard it ringing. As soon as I touched the screen to answer it the phone just exploded. There was a loud bang and a sizzling noise and the force of the blast shattered the screen,” he was quoted as saying.
“Loads of tiny shards of glass were embedded in my hand and my girlfriend has been picking them out for days. It was a nasty injury - my hand was bleeding quite heavily = but it could have been so much worse. I could have lost my hand. My girlfriend’s two-year-old son was in the house so it could have just as easily been him,” he continues.
Hayes, who is a semi-pro darts player, says he already contacted O2 and his phone was replaced with a new one, but compensation was not offered. With Apple yet to issue a comment, the man says he is considering legal action against whoever is responsible for this, but in typical Apple fashion, expect the whole saga to come to an end very soon with no other details to make the headlines.
