The State Farm insurance company has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging a defective iPhone 4S caused a house fire in Wisconsin in 2016, reports AppleInsider. State Farm’s suit names Xai Thao as a co-complainant who suffered more than $75,000 in damages related to the fire.
According to the lawsuit, he bought an iPhone 4S in 2014, which failed On April 1, 2016, causing a fire at her home in New Richmond, a small suburban city sitting on the western outskirts of Wisconsin in St. Croix County.
According to State Farm, the signs indicate that an internal failure caused the fire, and no other potential fire sources were present at the time. The complaint claims Thao received the iPhone in new condition and hadn’t tampered with the smartphone.
This isn’t the first time Apple has been sued for an “exploding” phone. Gustafson Nicolai, a Los Angeles-based law firm, has filed two lawsuits for similar events. Both lawsuits set forth claims for “general negligence and products liability in connection with iPhone 6 devices overheating, exploding, and causing significant burns to Plaintiffs’ bodies, as well as other injuries and suffering.”
The lawsuits seek damages for, among other things, wage loss, loss of use of property, hospital and medical expenses, mental and emotional suffering and anguish, general damage, property damage, and loss of earning capacity. In both cases, the plaintiffs seek punitive and exemplary damages.
