Featured Image Credit: Getty/Chung Sung-Jun/Class Action
Topics: Phones, Samsung, Technology, YouTube
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Phones, Samsung, Technology, YouTube
A simulation has revealed what happened when a man's phone 'exploded' in his pocket and it's 'unlocked' a 'new fear' in social media users.
A simulation shared to YouTube has revealed what it may've looked like when a man's phone ended up catching fire in his pants' pocket and 'exploding' in 2016.
On May 30, 2016, construction worker Daniel Ramirez was working in Ohio, US, when his Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - located in his right front pocket - began 'whistling, screeching and vibrating' and he saw 'smoke coming from his pocket,' Class Action reports.
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The report continues: "As he reached into his pocket to remove the phone Ramirez suffered burns to his right hand. Without warning the S7 Edge exploded and caught fire while still in his pants pocket, causing his boxer shorts and pants to melt to his leg, leaving him with second and third degree burns.
"He suffered severe and permanent burn injuries to his groin, legs, and lower back that required a significant skin graft surgery and will necessitate extensive physical therapy moving forward."
And a simulation has since been shared to YouTube, showcasing an enactment of what happened to Ramirez.
The video shows a cartoon man with a phone inside his pocket, as smoke begins emerging and the man letting out screams as the phone sets alight.
One YouTube user commented: "New fear unlocked : Your phone starts burning out of nowhere."
"Bro the fact that my phone overheats like that sometimes and the character looks exactly like me scares the s**t out of me," another added.
The YouTube video claims the phone 'exploding' happened because the 'battery's casing was made too small on this particular model'.
"It caused the electrodes inside to bend and make contact with each other. This led to a short circuit which eventually made the battery overheat and this led to a cycle of chemical reactions that continually generated more and more heat until the phone eventually exploded," it further claims.
However, this was the explanation Samsung later released in regards to another of its phones - the Galaxy Note 7 - which it discontinued.
The Galaxy Note 7 had been recalled in the months following the incident over concerns around its battery, however, Samsung said phone owners could swap their phone for a Samsung Galaxy S7 or a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
A Class Action lawsuit was filed against Samsung stating that Ramirez' Samsung phone caused him the 'severe burns' and demanding Samsung address the safety of the batteries in not just the Galaxy Note 7 but the S7 and S7 Edge too.
The case was later closed, according to Case Text.
A Samsung spokesperson told USA Today at the time: "Recent reports suggesting Samsung’s battery issue goes beyond the Galaxy Note 7 are not true.
"The battery cell issue announced earlier this month is isolated to one battery manufacturer for one specific phone model."