Teens nowadays are obsessed with their technology. One piece of tech that we all are guilty of using is the smartphone. A boring old cell phone just isn’t enough anymore. We need a mini computer in the palm of our hands so we can access our social media and emails 24/7. These things are just so convenient!
But sometimes smartphones can actually hurt you. Jackie Fedro is a mother from Chicago who gave her 13-year-old daughter a smartphone for Christmas. Her daughter was in sports and had a pretty full plate. ‘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,’ said Jackie.
Jackie Fedro
The following week, her daughter Gabbie was heard screaming. ‘She came running downstairs after it [happened] grabbing her neck,’ Fedro said. ‘She was in so much pain she was screaming hysterically.’
‘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,’ said the mother. ‘It took her a good five minutes before she was even able to tell us what had happened.’
Jackie Fedro
According to Gabbie, she was using her smartphone while it was still plugged into the wall being charged, and she was suddenly shocked by an electric current that travelled through her jewelry, a metal necklace, and burned her neck. The shock she felt and the scars she received were very serious.
She ended up getting second-degree burns that left a massive scar all around her neck. According to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesperson Scott Wolfson, he says that buying a knock-off charger or batteries from a third party vendor may cause this type of thing to happen. While cell phone injuries aren’t common, they do happen at least a few times a year.
Jackie Fedro
Typically, the type of injury that occurs from a cell phone is by the lithium ion battery overheating. Since the awful incident, Jackie has contacted the company T-Mobile and T-Mobile has offered to pay for a brand new phone as well as all of Gabbie’s medical bills.
