Rather, their customers could only seek repairs from third parties. These experts can be particularly useful for plaintiffs in the Apple class action, because Apple employees themselves never engaged in repairs. Due to the relatively widespread nature of the defects plaguing both companies, someone who is on the front line witnessing these problems everyday can be a great segue into more technically advanced experts. While experts in more complex, technical fields are to be expected experts in retail phone repair may provide important testimony for the plaintiffs to establish not just the prevalence of the defect but also give examples of how customers have attempted to ameliorate the defect on their own. With massive litigation looming for two of the biggest smartphone manufacturers, expert witness testimony will be indispensable for both the plaintiff and the defense. A Seattle law firm has stated they will likely file a class action suit against Samsung in the upcoming week. As of last month, there have been 92 reports of the phones overheating, 26 reports of burns, and 55 reports of property damage. These were caused by the phone exploding in his pants pocket. A Florida man was the first to sue the company for second-degree burns on his leg and thumb. According to a preliminary report, a manufacturing error that “placed pressure on plates contained within battery cells …brought negative and positive poles into contact,” was the cause of the defect.ĭue to the physically dangerous nature of the Samsung defect, it was only a matter of time before the lawsuits commenced. If the battery is punctured, separating the positive and negative sides of the battery, it heats up the flammable liquid electrolyte, which can cause an explosion. Like most phones, the Galaxy Note 7 uses a lithium ion battery, which is highly flammable. Unlike the iPhone’s logic board defects, the Galaxy Note 7’s tendency to combust into flames is less complex. Samsung has offered its customers a $100 credit to exchange the Galaxy Note 7 for another Samsung phone. Despite the recalls and Samsung ceasing production of the phones entirely, nearly one million people are still using the phones. Over 1.9 million phones in the United States alone must be collected and recycled. It has issued two voluntary recalls after nearly 100 instances of dangerous overheating were reported. Unlike Apple, Samsung was forced to address the problem directly. On the other side of the smartphone spectrum, Samsung has been facing its own controversy over the Galaxy Note 7 overheating and catching fire. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 and the Fire Hazard Recall It is a very difficult repair to conduct, so bringing the phone to a third-party repair shop does not guarantee a remedy and fixing it yourself is not recommended. When customers have brought their phones into Apple to be fixed, they were often charged for replacements or were provided refurbished models with the same issues. Because Apple does not conduct repairs on its logic board, most customers plagued with the touch disease are forced to buy a new device. Symptoms include a flickering screen bearing a gray bar, and intermittent unresponsiveness across the entire display. This causes the phone to bend and damage the “ IC” chips, the mechanism that “converts the touches on the touchscreen into action in Apple’s iPhone software”. The flaw is believed to be caused by the phone’s size and “ unreinforced logic board”. The lawsuits claim that Apple failed to fix a defect that causes “tiny soldered balls under the smartphone’s screen to crack during regular use and render their touchscreens useless”. He estimates that nearly 10,000 people have asked to join the lawsuit. Richard McCune is an attorney for the plaintiffs in the California lawsuits. More and more scorned Apple customers are seeking to exercise their rights and join the class action. Apple can no longer remain silent, however, as they are now facing class action suits in the federal courts of California and Utah as well as in Canada. Despite research suggesting that 11% of all iPhone repairs conducted at Apple stores are due to this particular type of malfunction. Referred to as the “ touch disease,” Apple has never officially acknowledged the problem. More and more owners of Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have been complaining about the models becoming unresponsive to touch. Though each company’s phone suffers from a different problem, and thus, the causes of action and case theories will be different, one thing is for certain – the expert witness testimony will be the focal point of litigation. So with both the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy Note 7 experiencing widespread malfunctioning issues, it is no surprise that angry consumers want to have their day in court and hold these manufacturers liable for damages. In today’s tech-driven age, we don’t just own phones, we live by them.
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