Apple Sued Over Watch Safety Issues
Apple Inc. has been sued for allegedly covering watch safety hazard that can cause injuries.
In a proposed class action lawsuit filed in Oakland, California federal court, certain Apple Watch customers accused that Apple failed to provide enough space inside the watch to allow for swelling of the internal lithium battery. This causes the screens of the wearable fitness trackers to detach, crack or shatter, injuring wearers.
According to the lawsuit, Apple violated various consumer protection laws as the tech major knew the issue but covered it when it released the product.
They said they are bringing claims on behalf of other Apple Watch purchasers under federal and California consumer protection laws.
The customers had also included a photo in the complaint of a deep laceration on one customer’s arm, allegedly caused when the Series 3 Apple Watch screen detached.
The defects are said to be in its first generation through Series 6 Apple Watches. However, the Apple Watch Series 7 model is not included. The Watch screens in the issue are made either of Ion-X glass in aluminum models, or sapphire crystal glass in stainless steel and titanium models. Each of these have a razor-sharp edge on all four sides.
The customers said, “The detached, shattered, or cracked screens are a material and unreasonable safety hazard to consumers, and has caused many purchasers to suffer from lacerations, cuts, abrasions, and/or other injuries.”
In the suit, the plaintiffs are seeking general, special, incidental, statutory, punitive, and consequential damages, as well as the costs for replacing their Apple Watches.
Meanwhile, reports noted that previous similar lawsuits have been dismissed.
Apple in 2019 had announced a program to replace cracked screens on aluminum Series 2 and 3 watches, free of charge. Related this screen replacement program, Apple on its website has said that, under very rare circumstances, a crack may form along the rounded edge of the screen.
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