Apple, Inc. is facing a lawsuit over an unintended consequence of its AirPods.
Parents of a minor boy, identified as B.G., alleged in a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court of Northern District of California that defective AirPods worn by B.G. in his right ear produced ear-shattering sound levels that ruptured his right eardrum and damaged his cochlea, court filings accessed via 9to5Mac.com showed.
Cochlea is a spiral-shaped cavity in the inner ear that is responsible for hearing.
Luxshare, Apple’s China-based AirPods supplier, was also named as a defendant in the complaint. The mishap occurred during an Amber Alert notification, the plaintiffs alleged. Amber Alert System, developed in 1996, is a nationwide notification system for alerting on an endangered or missing child.
B.G. suffered from “tinnitus, significant and permanent hearing loss, other temporary or permanent injuries, pain, suffering, and disabilities leading to the loss of the pleasures of life,” the complaint read.
The family also had to foot medical bills, both past and future, related to “care arising from and relating to the injuries suffered as a result of the defective AirPods,” it added.
The complaint also alleged this was caused by the defendants’ negligence in designing, manufacturing, and marketing the defective AirPods. The plaintiffs, therefore, sought “punitive damages in amounts that would punish defendants for their conduct and which would deter other technology companies from engaging in such misconduct in the future.”
Apple closed Tuesday’s session 2.54 percent higher at $149.24, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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