How much is a hospital trip due to an exploding laptop battery worth? In Apple and Sony's eyes, about $13,000. Such is the case of a couple in Japan who ended up on the losing side of the battery recall, after the one equipped on their MacBook exploded and caused burns. Apple has now settled with the couple, giving them only slightly less than they actually asked for. In the other hand, Sony claimed there was no clear link between the fire and the battery, but still ended up responsible and paying some damages.

Given the troubled history with laptop batteries, including various recalls over the past few years, this comes as no surprise. In fact, it would seem like the number of supposedly defective batteries that were deployed, compared to the number of incidents of a battery actually exploding are pretty good.

By now we are sure Sony has learned their lesson, both in financial terms and in PR.