SAMSUNG M300 CELL PHONE EXPLOSION

On September 19, 2007, I was working in my office in Morgantown, West

Virginia when I suddenly heard a loud popping sound from my pocket.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp burn on my leg. Simultaneously, an intensive

amount of white smoke began coming out of my pocket. The pain in my leg

caused me quickly stand up and attempt to remove the cell phone out of

my pocket. Before I could remove the battery, it burned a large hole in

my pocket and as it fell to the ground, my leg was burned in the

process. Additionally, when the battery hit the ground, the carpet was

burned immediately. I then picked up the phone to dispose of it,

however, the battery continued to smolder and smoke. My 100 sq-ft room,

the adjacent offices, and hallway were filled with smoke and an intense

chemical smell, causing the offices to be evacuated. I was promptly

escorted to the workplace medical center where I was treated for the

burns on my leg. Additionally, the appropriate safety personnel were

summoned to review and record the incident, following company and

federal guidelines. As the battery exploded, chemicals were released

causing the burns on my leg, and pose potential health concerns to

anyone who inhaled the smoke from the burning battery.

I have had this phone, a Samsung M300, for only two weeks. My previous

phone suddenly stopped working, thus, Sprint sent me a new replacement

phone. The battery which caused this incident was the original battery

sent with this phone from Sprint. I have not damaged, nor altered, this

phone in any manner since receiving the phone from Sprint.

Following my medical treatment, I contacted Sprint to report this

incident. As I explained the battery explosion, Sprint did not appear to

understand the seriousness of this incident and merely offered me a new

phone. I rejected this offer and demanded that Sprint record this

incident and have the appropriate individual return my call. I have yet

to receive a response from Sprint. Our safety personnel called Samsung

and was informed that the person in charge of these incidents was out of

the office for the next two days and was told to call again on Friday.

Neither I nor our safety personnel were contacted by Samsung until this

morning

While this battery explosion occurred at my workplace

where I was able to receive medical treatment, I am concerned that this

could have occurred at any time, in any place, and to anyone. This could

have occurred on an interstate driving 70 miles/hr. The popping sound,

the heat and pain from the burns, and the smoke filling the car would

most certainly cause an accident. Think of the consequences if this

battery had exploded while on a plane, in the middle of the night while

everyone was asleep, or when talking on the phone - it could happen to

you or your children.

Any of these possibilities would result in serious consequences. There

could have been more serious consequences from this battery explosion,

and thus I felt the need to report this incident. However, both Samsung

and Sprint have been negligent and irresponsible in the handling of this

incident and the dismissal of my concerns.

I thank you in advance for your assistance.

Sincerely,