A Dublin mother of three, Ann-Marie O’Gorman, 47, has died after being electrocuted while using her phone as it charged in the bathtub.
O’Gorman, of Shanliss Avenue in Santry, was found unresponsive by her husband, Joe, in October last year. She was rushed to Beaumont Hospital but was later pronounced dead.
At an inquest, pathologist Dr. Heidi Okkers told Dublin District Coroner’s Court that O’Gorman had sustained electrocution-type burns to her chest and left arm.
Joe recounted that he had left home with their youngest daughter around 6:40 p.m. and phoned his wife on the way back shortly before 8 p.m. Upon returning, he discovered her lying on her side in the bath with her phone and charging cable submerged in the water. As he tried to pull her out, he said he experienced a mild electric shock.
Speaking at the hearing, Joe criticized phone manufacturers for creating what he described as a “false illusion of safety” by advertising devices as waterproof without warning users of the risks when charging near water.
“The only thing you hear about is how these phones are great in up to six feet of water,” he told the court. “It gives people the idea that you can have your phone near water. There should be warnings that this is dangerous. There’s nothing being done by any provider to say this is a hazard you could die from.”
He further noted that iPhones carry no warnings about the potential for electrocution if they come into contact with water while plugged in.