As parents, we want our children to have what they need in order to be happy and healthy. Sometimes, this includes purchasing them a cell phone, as it allows us to keep in touch and it is a part of life for many teenagers.
There is one mother in Illinois, Jackie Fedro, who is now questioning her decision to get her 13-year-old daughter a cell phone. Her daughter, Gabbie, had always been active, but she was about to experience something life altering.
Since Gabbie was regularly only go, her mother decided that she should have a cell phone. She purchased her the T-Mobile LG D 500 for Christmas, and it was happy day for the teenager.
The mother said: “One of the reasons we finally gave in and bought her a cell phone is so we can keep in touch with her more with her crazy practice schedule.”
Things were going smoothly until about a week later, when the teenager came running downstairs grabbing her neck. The mother said that she was screaming hysterically because she was in so much pain.
When you are in this type of situation, it can be difficult because you will don’t always know what happened. You just know that you want to make it better.
“It’s the worst feeling in the world as a mother to watch your child scream in pain and have no idea how to help her,” she said. “It took her a good five minutes before she was even able to tell us what had happened.”
Gabbie explained that she was using her phone and it was plugged into a wall charger at the time. She got shocked while using it and it went from her phone through her necklace and burned her neck.
Fedro said that her daughter was wearing a metal necklace from Claire’s and suffered painful second-degree burns. She now has a scar all the way around her neck.
This is a tragic accident but it is not one that happens frequently. According to Scott Wolfson, who works for the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, cell phone injuries are relatively rare.
Most of the injuries come from the lithium-ion batteries overheating and exploding, which could cause burns. Wolfson went on to say that they have been concerned about these issues because they can be serious.
One of the biggest problems is using a knockoff charger or a third-party aftermarket battery. He warns that you probably shouldn’t go to a mall kiosk to replace the battery or charger.
Wolfson also said that this type of injury would be unique and he encourages anyone with this injury to consult the agency and file a report.
There have been a few other reports of people being electrocuted while using a faulty charger and talking on the phone while it was plugged in.
Meanwhile, the mother has contacted T-Mobile and LG about what took place. LG did not respond but T-Mobile asked her to send the phone back so they can run tests on it. They also offered to pay the medical bills.
