A British man has died after being electrocuted after charging his iPhone in the bath
The Daily Mail has reported that a 32-year-old male from Ealing in west London died in early December after being electrocuted by running an extension cord into his bathroom and charging an iPhone on his chest. – At an inquest into Richard Bulls death the coroner issued a warning about using the ‘innocuous devices’ which can be ‘as dangerous as a hairdryer in a bathroom.’
PC Craig Pattison told the inquest at West London Coroner’s Court how he found the extension lead running from the hallway outside into the bathroom. – ‘We found an iPhone plugged into the extension cable and then the charger element in the bath,’ he explained. ‘The extension cable was on the floor and it appeared as though he had his phone charger on his chest and the part between the phone charger and the cable had made contact with the water.’
In this particular case, it appears that Apple wasn’t at fault for supplying faulty equipment to the iPhone user; unfortunately it appears that the placing of the charger – which carries mains voltage – was in a position where it was likely to come into contact with water. – The coroner said that manufacturers should warn of the danger, and that he would be writing a report to send to Apple.
At an inquest into his death the coroner issued a warning about using the ‘innocuous devices’ which can be ‘as dangerous as a hairdryer in a bathroom.’ Recording a verdict of accidental death, Dr Sean Cummings said: ‘These seem like innocuous devices but can be as dangerous as a hairdryer in a bathroom. ‘They should attach warnings. I intend to write a report later to the makers of the phone.’