Man Suffers 3rd-Degree Burns After iPhone Explodes In Pocket

LINDENHURST, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island man claims he cannot work after he suffered burns from his iPhone when it burst into flames.

As WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported, 29-year-old Erik Johnson was still in pain as he sat in his Lindenhurst home.

Johnson said he was in New Jersey for his cousin's wake when all of a sudden, he felt a severe burning on his leg -- his iPhone 5C had exploded in his front pocket.

"All I heard was a pop, and it started fizzling, and it just started to burn my leg," he told Hall. "It went to a pretty much instant burn, it didn't even warm up; it just went to burn. And the only way I could get the phone away from me was to rip off my pants to get the phone out."

Johnson suffered third-degree burns on his leg and spent 10 days in the hospital.

"You don't expect something like this to happen, never," he said. "It's still hard to grasp the concept of this happening."

Listen to Man Suffers 3rd-Degree Burns After iPhone Explodes In Pocket

Johnson's attorney said they're looking into a lawsuit against Apple.

Apple did not return WCBS 880's request for comment.