Melanie Pelaez (iPhone): She blamed Apple for her burns

We often doze off as our phones charge, most times relatively close to our bodies. We nod off, hoping we’ll remain safe as the phone fills up with juice and you recharge your batteries. However, accidents happen, sometimes with fatal results.
The charging process can generate heat. If the battery gets too hot too fast, it can trigger a chemical reaction, which can cause fire or an explosion.
In late 2016, Melanie Pelaez claimed that her iPhone 7 burnt her as she slept. She posted photos of the burns on social media, sparking debate about the safety of charging iPhones.
Melanie suffered second-degree burns from her charging iPhone 7
Melanie Tan Pelaez dozed off as she watched movies from her charging iPhone 7. She woke up to a strange sensation in her arm and consulted her GP, who referred her to the hospital.
“The hospital did a number of tests and told me the mark was a burn from a foreign object and told me to check around my bed to see what could be the cause of the injury,” she told news.com.au.
Pelaez said that the doctors matched the burns to her phone and charger. The news attracted Apple’s attention; the company denied that its device caused the burns. “Apple took my phone and details, but said it couldn’t have been the phone because it didn’t have a distinct smell,” she said.
Apple reportedly told Melanie that its executive team had taken up the matter. “I then got a call from a member of the executive team who told me they were now handing the matter and had sent the phone to a senior technician in California for testing,” Tan added.
Melanie added that she’d spoken to plastic surgeons to discuss how to deal with the scar.
Melanie didn’t sue Apple, but she publicly blamed them for the incident
Melanie narrated her ordeal on Facebook, blaming her new Apple iPhone 7 for the burns on her arm. She wrote:
“I have been an iPhone user since the beginning and have never had an issue or concern, so it’s really scary and disappointing that something like this happened and can happen to someone else.”
Pelaez urged people to be careful when sleeping with their phones while charging. Some netizens sympathized with Melanie, while others doubted her story. The doubters didn’t believe that a charger and phone could inflict such burns on Melanie’s arm.
Melanie didn’t sue Apple and said that she rejected a replacement phone offered by the company. “I declined the offer for a replacement phone because I don’t trust the device anymore,” she told news.com.au. “I just want to raise awareness so people don’t have to suffer the same injury as I did.”
Pelaez currently enjoys a happy life with her friends and family in Sydney, Australia. She is a regional manager and Challenge Children Services, where she’s worked since February 2013.