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14-Year-Old Girl Electrocuted after Cell Phone Incident in Bathtub
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jonathonball
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Did your game boy have access to communication, social media, and porn?
and thats what gets me lol, I would feel nothing but sympathy for the girl if she was 4 or 5. But the parents really need to learn how to explain simple things to their kids, I warned both my kids when they were 4 that the tub will destroy any toy with batteries and kill you if it plugs into the wall. I explained that being electrocuted hurts very very bad and will kill them very quick and they dont fuck around water with electronics now
Pusher of Buttons
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Link Cable+GameBoy Camera....it could be done.
I think this was a triple fault:
1) Missing or damaged GFCI
2) Isolation Issue in the Charger (likely on cheap chargers)
3) Using the phone connected to the charger in a wet environment with direct contact to ground
Any off those three missing and the story would be different.
1) Missing or damaged GFCI
2) Isolation Issue in the Charger (likely on cheap chargers)
3) Using the phone connected to the charger in a wet environment with direct contact to ground
Any off those three missing and the story would be different.
Different times and incomparable. Nothing back then did. However really a basic smart phone is about the same price adjusted for inflation as a gameboy. Only difference is one only played games, the other does far more. Honestly the whole " I didn't have it as a kid " argument is silly and frankly petty. I didn't have internet or a pc as a kid, should I banish my kids from the internet and anything not a 1980's gameboy? No, stupid argument is stupid. Phones aren't the luxury they used to be.
lollerwaffle
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Despite our best attempts, kids don't think much at times. I'm not a huge fan of kids hanging on cell phones much, but guess what, that's today's reality. We explain and make rules, and at times those all go out of the window when for a moment they're not thinking, or they had a fight with you, or they think they know it all. Kids.
I feel for the parents all the same because they WILL forever blame themselves, rightful or not. I hope this was a "straightforward" accident and they can get on with their lives, but even then it's got to be a ride through hell and back.
Sad thing. From what little I got from the story, for all they know the girl had a stroke or heart attack and was nothing to do with electricity. The only thing the artical says is:
"There was a burn mark on her hand, the hand that would have grabbed the phone. And that was just very obvious that that’s what had happened"
It doesn't say the phone was in the tub, or that the phone was burned up. For all we know the phone was still plugged in the charger on the sink and in fine shape.
Without more details or a medical investigation, electrocution doesn't sound obvious from what little was said.
"There was a burn mark on her hand, the hand that would have grabbed the phone. And that was just very obvious that that’s what had happened"
It doesn't say the phone was in the tub, or that the phone was burned up. For all we know the phone was still plugged in the charger on the sink and in fine shape.
Without more details or a medical investigation, electrocution doesn't sound obvious from what little was said.
Hielo_loco
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I think we are expecting technology to supplant common sense. I'm sad for the girl, but really, even if I have the best cables in the world, with whatever type of protection... no way I'm placing any of them near water, especially if I am in said water.
Shintai
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Wow that's crazy. It sounds like the wild west for electric installations. Here electricians are mandatory for anything that isn't something like putting up a lamp more or less.
you're right though, regardless of the stupidity I do feel terrible for the parents
It would be horrible to lose my kids, especially to such a silly mistake
Pusher of Buttons
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Oh, I'm sure they are here, too.
Only illegal if you get caught.
Added:
Friend of mine's place (sectioned off old giant house) had an extension cord running through a hole in the wall from the "living" room to a 10 or so gallon hot water heater that sat straight on the ground (no drain pan or anything) on the CAPRET of his "bathroom" with PEX tubing running out of it like bad cabling job.
In the area I'm living (MS 60 miles from the Gulf) "highly illegal" means nothing. When I had the 100+ year old house rewired I made sure the person doing the work was a licensed journeyman electrician. Many folks thought it was foolish because "State a name" down the road had worked for the telephone company and would have done it for next to nothing.
And, you are correct in that, to me, it is mind boggling and dangerous to not hire a qualified electrician, but the game changes for some folks when a person resides in the 3rd poorest county in the poorest state in the U.S.A. Location, location, location.
5
5icko
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Q the lawsuit naming both the electric company and phone maker.
After reading several different reports on this, I see no more hard facts. The family thinks she either grabbed the phone, or plugged the phone charger in while in the tub because officials said they saw a burn mark on her hand. Ok, I'd say it's much more likely she was on the phone, battery got low, she plugged it in and her wet hand/finger was touching the hot outlet prong as she plugged it in. That would be a direct path to ground through her body from mains. The wet skin would lower the resistance quite a bit. Enough to let the 110v AC build up a fatal level of current through her body (heart) on the way to the tubs drain.
O, and if she was holding the charger plug, and there was enough current to kill, it would have been way more than enough to grip lock her hand on the plug. her arm, and probably legs would have been rigidly paralyzed. Her other arm may have been able to move. Even a knowledgeable person that knew what was going on would have only had a couple seconds max to use the free arm to push themselves in a direction to break the connection. She may have lacked the upper body strength to do so with one arm anyway given a probably awkward position sitting in a tub.
O, and if she was holding the charger plug, and there was enough current to kill, it would have been way more than enough to grip lock her hand on the plug. her arm, and probably legs would have been rigidly paralyzed. Her other arm may have been able to move. Even a knowledgeable person that knew what was going on would have only had a couple seconds max to use the free arm to push themselves in a direction to break the connection. She may have lacked the upper body strength to do so with one arm anyway given a probably awkward position sitting in a tub.
Gigus Fire
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Without sounding like a horrible person, it's hard to feel sorry for someone being this stupid.
It has to be outlet 115v AC, not 5v DC usb.
She was in a bathtub presumably with water, reaching over to plug in her charger. Why the hell would anyone ever do that?
Leave your goddamn phone alone and take a shower. that's the only lesson to be learned, which in reality isn't a lesson to many people because it's already common sense.
It has to be outlet 115v AC, not 5v DC usb.
She was in a bathtub presumably with water, reaching over to plug in her charger. Why the hell would anyone ever do that?
Leave your goddamn phone alone and take a shower. that's the only lesson to be learned, which in reality isn't a lesson to many people because it's already common sense.
Dead Parrot
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Sad that this happened. Sad that she couldn't be without the phone for a long enough period of time to take a bath/shower.
Quite possible that the soap/bath oil/whatever made the water a very good conductor. If so, only takes a few volts to push enough current through you to kill. IIRC, somewhere around 10~20 ma is the magic number. Possible the 5v of the charger caused her hand to grip and contact the 120v main.
Keep in mind that code generally only applies during construction or refit. For most things, there is no requirement to retrofit an old house to new standards unless you are remodeling, then you have to bring the remodeled section up to current code. Quite possible to have a fully updated bathroom addition on one side of a house and an original 1920s bathroom complete with knob and tube wiring on the other side.
Quite possible that the soap/bath oil/whatever made the water a very good conductor. If so, only takes a few volts to push enough current through you to kill. IIRC, somewhere around 10~20 ma is the magic number. Possible the 5v of the charger caused her hand to grip and contact the 120v main.
Keep in mind that code generally only applies during construction or refit. For most things, there is no requirement to retrofit an old house to new standards unless you are remodeling, then you have to bring the remodeled section up to current code. Quite possible to have a fully updated bathroom addition on one side of a house and an original 1920s bathroom complete with knob and tube wiring on the other side.
Let suppose there wasn't a GFCI....Lubbock is a shit hole, so not unreasonable. A cellphone operates and 5V. 5V will not penetrate your skin enough to kill you.
From taking OSHA classes every year, here are some of the things they tell you. Human skin from hand to foot (most common path) is about 600 ohms. Ohms law says 5V into 600 Ohms is 8mA (assuming it can even break through the skin). Here's a chart that is commonly shown in OSHA stuff. This is for AC (60hz), but USB would be DC.
Here's another slide showing resistance.
So, I would say she wasn't killed by USB voltage....something else was at play....like AC voltage was introduced or something.
Think about a Apple Lightning connector. They purposefully expose the 5V and ground wires.....shocks no one.
My small children have ruined no less than 3 of the lighting cords because they chewed on them while they were plugged into chargers that were plugged into the wall.
The more stories I hear like this, the more it makes me wonder if there is some other wiring problem in the buildings where this happens.
Maybe the pipes are metal and the pipes are being used for earth ground and power is feeding back up through the circuit.... bad wiring and path of least resistance sort of thing. If the pipes were PVC or some other non-metal, this sort of thing would not happen.
Unfortunately phones are pretty much required entering middle school in some places as family coordinates various activities at various locations. I hated it but it became pretty obvious I needed to get my punk ass kids phones.
As to the "tragic lol dumb kid" posts: not every one is an electrician, or even if they know using a hair dryer in a bath tub is dumb, they may not understand a similar risk might occur with a low voltage device like a cell phone.
IMO, I vote for crappy off brand charger + old house or code violation.
ChoGGi
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A couple things, if the house is old enough, no GFCI, and the drainage is probably cast iron. Hell the tub could be too, maybe with some chipped porcelain.
Hypergreatthing It doesn't take much to kill you if resistance is low enough, soaking in water doesn't help. She may have also had an open wound.
A couple people mentioned licensed electricians, legally you don't need if you own the house. In Canada that is, though I would assume the same for the states. You can pretty much do everything yourself.
I helped completely gutting a house/rebuild in Toronto. The only original left was the foundation, party wall, and some of the outer wall. The only person needed for hire was a structural engineer to sign-off on the plans. That said we did get some help for drywalling/mudding, and we did have a journeyman do the connections to the mains. Running wire to code is easy enough, but I don't like messing with mains unless I have to
That all said, the further you get away from cities the easier inspectors become; after I moved to Alberta, we were doing a new basement a few KM outside Calgary (past the city lines, south of De Winton). The electrician was pretty sloppy/lazy and left some old (disconnected from mains, but still looking connected) 14/2 bundled in loops up top of some framing. The inspector didn't even care about it, try that in Toronto or Calgary he'd tell you to fuck off.
Why didn't she just drop a toaster in to heat up the water, some people...
Hypergreatthing It doesn't take much to kill you if resistance is low enough, soaking in water doesn't help. She may have also had an open wound.
A couple people mentioned licensed electricians, legally you don't need if you own the house. In Canada that is, though I would assume the same for the states. You can pretty much do everything yourself.
I helped completely gutting a house/rebuild in Toronto. The only original left was the foundation, party wall, and some of the outer wall. The only person needed for hire was a structural engineer to sign-off on the plans. That said we did get some help for drywalling/mudding, and we did have a journeyman do the connections to the mains. Running wire to code is easy enough, but I don't like messing with mains unless I have to
That all said, the further you get away from cities the easier inspectors become; after I moved to Alberta, we were doing a new basement a few KM outside Calgary (past the city lines, south of De Winton). The electrician was pretty sloppy/lazy and left some old (disconnected from mains, but still looking connected) 14/2 bundled in loops up top of some framing. The inspector didn't even care about it, try that in Toronto or Calgary he'd tell you to fuck off.
Why didn't she just drop a toaster in to heat up the water, some people...
No, most people aren't electricians, but if you don't know not to take mains in the bath then there isn't much to say on the matter
oROEchimaru
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I am guilty of playing "Buriedbornes" on android in the tub.
Bounty
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You should make them stop doing that.
In this case the blatant show of stupidity is from the parents. They should have taught her better when she was younger.
kids are going to do stupid shit no matter how much you try and teach them. i did stupid shit as a kid but thankfully didnt have social media or the internet at that age but we did have lawn darts.
I did plenty of stupid shit when I was a kid too, but when I was young I was taught that electricity near the tub could kill me. I even remember my mom pointing out how her hair dryer had the warning tag on the cord showing the risk of electric shock near the tub. I believe I've also seen it on radios too.
I still did dumb shit, but I never did this because I was taught how god damn motherfucking serious it was. Either dumb parents or dumb girl. Sorry, not sorry.
Master_shake_
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Eeeew baths... Shower or gtfo
sfsuphysics
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Yeah she didn't grab the phone, she plugged the phone in while in the tub probably touching the drain, the overflow drain or the faucet all of which would be grounded.
And for everyone screaming GFCI, yes it would have helped, but if the house was built before the 70s and the bathroom not renovated then it wasn't "out of code" simply because it was existing construction. That said, when my kid came into this world I made sure all bedroom outlets were on GFCI/AFCI circuits "just in case" since happens, I didn't want to risk his life simply because the existing wiring was grandfathered in.
And for everyone screaming GFCI, yes it would have helped, but if the house was built before the 70s and the bathroom not renovated then it wasn't "out of code" simply because it was existing construction. That said, when my kid came into this world I made sure all bedroom outlets were on GFCI/AFCI circuits "just in case" since happens, I didn't want to risk his life simply because the existing wiring was grandfathered in.
D
Deleted member 243478
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Chinese knock off chargers... Charger has no ground and basically the electrical isolation failed between the mains side and the 5v side.
NEVER use cheap knock off chargers, it isn't worth your life either through electrocution or fire hazards.
mizkitty64
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Similar case in the UK recently.
They don't normally have outlets in the bathroom, so the guy ran a full extension cord into the bathroom so he could use the device in the tub.
They don't normally have outlets in the bathroom, so the guy ran a full extension cord into the bathroom so he could use the device in the tub.
oldmanbal
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I just feel bad about this one. Not interested in the science or any other factors. Unfortunately Evolution comes at a price to many.
I feel bad about it too, despite what some others here are probably assuming because this sort of death is entirely preventable. People want to make excuses, claim others are being hateful, or anything else to distract from the fact that society is getting too lax with this stuff when people can still die like this, even in 2017.
Not these generations of kids. They know nothing and lack common sense. School have cut out class they would learn stuff like this. They wouldn't even retain the knowledge anyway.