Gamertell

A couple of weeks ago a story about a boy that got injured by his PSP. The Farmington Hills, Detroit (USA), boy got second degree burns to his leg when his PSP, which was in his pants pocket, started heating and burned through his clothes. The device was given to the Farmington Hills Fire Department so that they could start an investigation to determine what had caused the PSP to overheat.

A couple of days ago the investigation came up with some clues and it turns out Sony’s device might not be the real culprit here. The device’s battery had been charged with a replacement charger made by Pelican, and according to Lt. Denny Hughes of the Farmington Hills Fire Department in an interview with Detroit Free Press, the charger might have played a part in overcharging the battery, causing it to overheat and hurt the boy.

Representatives from Pelican and Sony are going to Michigan in the next few weeks to inspect the devices and try to figure out what caused the malfunction. I’m guessing the charger may have stayed longer than stated in the instructions that came with it so the manufacturers may argue the device wasn’t used correctly. The Clays, the injured boy’s family, haven’t started any legal action against any of the manufacturers.

I generally hate people suing big companies about nonsense just to get money but I think I would seek some compensation on this one. Even if it turns out the boy didn’t use the charger as instructed by the manual, batteries and chargers are everyday hardware children use all the time and making them safe should be a top priority for any company. Any possibility of them overheating during use that can be considered normal should be avoided so in this case I think charging time should not be an issue.

Read[ Freep.com]