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Apple AirPods Earbuds Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Parents of a teenage boy in Texas are suing Apple Inc. and the manufacturer of its AirPods earbuds.
- Why: They say the boy suffered permanent hearing loss when an Amber Alert came through on his phone and the loud sound “ripped open” his eardrum.
- Where: The case was filed in California federal court.
Parents of a teenage boy in Texas have slammed Apple with a lawsuit alleging the boy will have to use a hearing aid for the rest of his life due to a defect in its AirPods product that caused him permanent hearing damage.
Carlos Gordoa and Ariani Reyes filed the lawsuit against Apple, Inc. and the AirPods manufacturer May 16 in a California federal court, alleging violations of local and federal consumer laws.
The parents claim their son wore defective Apple AirPods operating at a low volume when “ear-shattering sound levels” from an Amber Alert came through them, ripping open his right eardrum and damaging his cochlea.
The incident has caused the boy to suffer 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 lawsuit alleges.
It also claims the boy must now use a hearing aid for the rest of his life.
Apple AirPods Do Not Automatically Reduce Loud Volumes, Lawsuit Alleges
The lawsuit, which also names Luxshare-IDT Inc., which imports the AirPods for Apple, and Luxshare Precision Industry Co. Ltd., which manufactures them, alleges that Apple and Luxshare know that the earbuds are dangerously defective but have done nothing about it.
According to the lawsuit, the AirPods are defective because they do not automatically reduce, control, limit or increment notification or alert volumes to a safe level.
The complaint points to several online posts of users complaining that they received alerts that were played at full volume through their AirPods despite having lowered the overall volume of the devices.
The companies have been negligent in not advising customers of the risks, the lawsuit states.
The complaint includes claims for negligence, strict liability design defect, manufacturing defect and failure to warn, gross negligence, breach of implied warranty, fraud by non-disclosure and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The family seeks damages for the boy’s pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish and future medical expenses.
While the company is not currently facing a class action over the allegedly defective AirPods, Top Class Actions follows lawsuits closely as they sometimes result in class action lawsuits.
In April, a court granted final approval for Apple to pay $95 million to resolve an AppleCare lawsuit claiming it provided remanufactured Apple products as replacement devices.
Have you had an overly loud sound come through your Apple AirPods? Let us know in the comments!
The family is represented by Richard T. Collins of Callahan & Blaine APLC and Tej Paranjpe and Robert Horn of Paranjpe Mahadass Ruemke LLP.
The Apple AirPods Earbuds Lawsuit is Gordoa et al. v. Apple Inc. et al., Case No. 3:22-cv-02900, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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80 thoughts onApple AirPods Lawsuit Alleges Product Ruptured Teen’s Eardrum
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My AirPods will randomly, occasionally give a very high volume burst of high pitch electronic sounding sound. It happens without warning, and I end up flinging the things out of my ears in a reflex to the pain! It happened to me today, which is what led me to this article. It is not the first time it has happened, and every time it causes pain and sensitivity to sound in that ear for a time, generally the rest of the day. I’ve never had this happen with ANY other headphone set in my entire 40 something years of headphone use. I’m certain I’ve had hearing damage.
I continually hear a loud awful cracking noise in my air pods pro when I walk, It’s like i can hear my footsteps through my air pods. I contacted apple support and followed the instructions for resetting my air pods and now they have no output. They are visible but will not play any sound. I then contacted apple support via chat and was told that although they were replaced less than a year ago, they only had a 90 day warranty. I was told this in the paragraph after they told me all apple products have a 1 year warranty. When asked why mine didn’t I was given the excuse that apple products for sale are manufactured differently than apple products manufactured for replacement. Wait what? Now they expect me to pay $255.00 for a service fee. Again, wait what? I can buy a new pair for $200. I was given the option to go to a apple store which is over 60 miles away. If apple replaces products with brand new products, why don’t they have the same warranty?
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