Man died as he charged his iPhone in the bath

A 32-year-old man was fatally electrocuted after charging his iPhone while taking a bath, on December 11, 2016, Ealing London. His wife discovered im with severe burns to his chest, arm and hand. He is believed to have plugged the charger into an extension cord from a nearby corridor and placed the phone on his chest while taking bath.

Assistant Coroner Dr. Sean Cummings, at West London Coroner’s court, ruled his death as accidental and plans to send a report to Apple about taking action to prevent future deaths and urged to issue a warning about using cell phones near water.

Charity Electrical Safety First said the death highlighted some of the dangers of having electrical appliances around water.

 A product safety specialist said “Such devices as Mobile phone typically have a low voltage of 5v to 20v so “you probably wouldn’t feel it” if they came into contact with water. However, connecting a mobile phone to charger plugged into the mains electricity supply increases the risk of harm. Although the cable that is plugged into your phone is 5V. you are reliant on that cable and transformer to ensure you don’t get into contact with the main voltage”. He further added “Cheap non-branded chargers may not offer such protection, but even with genuine chargers you are taking an unnecessary risk. When you’re wet electricity conducts lot better and in the bath with no clothes on , your skin resistance is less and are vulnerable in the bathroom”.

According to Sheila Merrill of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) warns against using any electrical appliance in the bathroom. “ You’re risking death as electricity and water don’t mix, but with particularly with phones, people don’t probably always think about it.”