Coroner says iPhones should come with warnings after man is killed while charging handset...

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I shudder to think there is that kind of stupid out there but in my heart I know it is true.

He probably knew the risk but took the chance anyway. We all do that, it's in our DNA, but his action can only be described as 'brainless'. It was like playing Russian Roulette with with 5 live rounds in the chamber of a 6 shooter.

 

[p51d007]

If they remove the warning labels stating the obvious, the companies are generally held liable for not having the label present. Wet floor sign all that jazz, people are stupid, hopefully their stupidity takes care of them before they can breed.

Which is why if I were a judge, I would toss out about 99% of civil lawsuits.
If "common sense" could be used as a defense, MOST of these liability lawsuits would not exist.
But, what fun would that be, if you couldn't turn on the TV and see "if you or a loved one ever used
product X, you could be entitled to compensation"....I'm a non attorney spokesperson.

 

[Ascaris]

Not only was he using the charger while in the bathtub, but apparently had the extension cord plugged into a non GFI (ground fault interrupt) electrical outlet.

 

[Sebastien A.]

It's called Darwinism....thinning out the gene pool.
Personally, I'd like to see ALL warning labels removed. If people are stupid enough
to do dumb things, then suffer the consequences.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to go make some toast in the shower.

There's nothing better to keep the moisture of your toast

 

[Sebastien A.]

Well... I'm not trying to defend that guy but I could always try to think out of the box....

WHAT IF he never had a science course (or wasn't listening)? I mean, many things seem to be common sense but it's because at one point we were thought that thing and we remember it. I know many things that just make sense to me but to my neighbor it's completely new and vise versa.

BUT I do agree that there's a level of stupidity running through human kind that amazes me every time, almost like begging for trouble.

 

[Tommy Lee]

Does anyone really think that a warning label would really have prevented this? Unfortunately, there is no cure for stupid...

Might have to people are that stupid

 

[StrikerRocket]

I'm curious as to the charger is a brick, outside of the water, not part of the phone. The charger should not put out more than 5v at a time, I have no knowledge in the electric field (More than not to use wall powered devices in the tub) but could someone explain if this is normal that it would conduct enough power to kill someone?

Right, the charger put out 5v, but the extension cord he had plugged in the mains and rested on his chest *while he was in the bath* put out 220 volts... He had the whole charger plugged in the mains with the extension cord on his chest, as I understand it, while bathing, which, you'll agree, no one in his right mind would normally do... I guess...
The fact that chargers deliver 5v might make people oblivious to the fact that the charger itself needs more than that, 5v is not dangerous, 220v is.

 

[Kibaruk]

I did not know what was resting in his chest, if the extension, or the charging phone, that was my main question, and if so, a charger brick should cut itself out or simply throw out 5v right? Which means it should... as long as it's a good one, not kill anyone if they use a charging phone in a tub. It's not an ideal use but... not a deadly one. Just wondering.

 

[Aaron Jones]

I'm curious as to the charger is a brick, outside of the water, not part of the phone. The charger should not put out more than 5v at a time, I have no knowledge in the electric field (More than not to use wall powered devices in the tub) but could someone explain if this is normal that it would conduct enough power to kill someone?

While it's true that USB used to be 5V only, that is no longer the case today. The USB Power Delivery specification will negotiate all the way up to 20V 5A (so, 100W assuming no losses and a resistive load) with compatible devices (chargers and e.g. phones, or laptops).

I don't know the specifics of Apple's iPhone charging technology, but I do know the MacBook chargers start out at a low voltage (~3.3V) and then negotiate upwards to 16.5V as the devices talk to eachother. It would not surprise me to discover that they have implemented a similar negotiation feature for their iPhones and iPhone chargers.

 

[vpix360]

Perhaps doctors, when delivering a baby should tattoo "CAUTION: HUMAN STUPIDITY MAY EXIST" on their foreheads.