SC man’s cell phone blows up in his hand, causing him to be injured, lawsuit says
An Horry County man is suing a national phone company and service after he claims his cell phone blew up in his hand.
Kevin Wilkins and Sandra Delmer filed the suit against Sumsung Electronics America, Charter Communications and Spectrum.
A representative with Charter Communications and Spectrum declined to comment. A message left with Samsung was not returned by publication.
Wilkins claims in the suit that he was holding his Samsung cell phone in his hand on Oct. 14, 2023, when the phone caught fire and then blew up. He was severely burned and blistered, the suit said.
Wilkins, who is disabled, had no way of seeking medical care for his injuries because he cannot drive and the damaged cell phone was his only way to contact anyone, including his sister, Delmer, who is his caregiver, the suit said.
Wilkins was able to go to a neighbor’s home for help and use their phone to notify his sister.
The suit, filed on May 19, 2025, claims the companies were negligent in failing to properly manufacture and supply a safe product, and “not something that is capable of blowing up in one’s hand.”
The suit claims the product that Samsung designed and manufactured, and then sold by Spectrum to Wilkins, was designed poorly and in a defective condition, making it dangerous.
After two years of the incident, the defendants continually failed and refused to pay for the damages Wilkins suffered from the phone and continued to deduct monthly charges for the phone, the suit said. Delmer claims she incurred thousands of dollars in monthly phone bills, despite not having any phone connected.
The suit is asking for a jury trial for damages, including medical costs.
