HP facing lawsuit over exploding Presario, injured daughter

A Little Rock, Arkansas man is taking HP to court over a faulty Compaq Presario that he says is to blame for burning his house down and causing serious injury to his daughter. The Wal-Mart-bought computer seemed perfectly fine until it suddenly burst into flames, catching his entire house on fire. His daughter had to jump out of a second story window to escape the fire, and sustained burns, physical injuries and "extreme mental anguish." As if it wasn't bad enough having a Presario in the first place. The lawsuit names unspecified monetary damages.

[John @ Jan 15th 2008 11:06AM]

I'm pretty sure the only explosive thing in a computer is the battery, which is probably not made by HP

[lothar @ Jan 15th 2008 11:10AM]

So from the point of the laptop bursting into flames the fire spread so fast that she had to jump out the window?

That sound a bit odd to anyone, it reminds me of the Die Hard 4 hacker attack plot.

[ScareyJ @ Jan 15th 2008 11:31AM]

I'm trying to understand the logistics of how the heck it caught fire and forced her to jump from the 2nd story window. How could the flames have engulfed her room/doorway so fast after exploding but only causing 'emotional' scaring to her? Or was it her quick thinking to dive through the window like Walker Texas Ranger ... if so, you know she kicked someone afterwards.

[saycheese @ Jan 15th 2008 2:09PM]

Could it be that the laptop burst into flames in the middle of the night (when it is generally plugged in to recharge the battery) and nobody noticed the fire until it was too late?

[OXCiD3 @ Jan 15th 2008 11:11AM]

I bet he wished his HP had got hacked... [http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/21/security-exploit-bricks-hp-and-compaq-laptops/]


after all bricks dont burn houses down...

[SLAYTANIC @ Jan 15th 2008 11:19AM]

Was his house made out of balsa wood and kerosene-infused drywall? How can the heat generated by a laptop battery cause such a fast-moving fire? Sounds fishy.

[Gian @ Jan 15th 2008 11:24AM]

Gee whiz, people. You guys are assholes. The guy lost his house and his daughter was injured because a multi-billion dollar corporation pushed faulty gear. And you guys take the side of the corporation? I guess if your house burnt down and you lost everything in a similar situation, you would just suck it up.

Spare me.

[Flashpoint @ Jan 15th 2008 11:29AM]

That battery was probably made by some Chinese company without good quality control -probably not HP's fault.

[Jeff @ Jan 15th 2008 11:55AM]

He probably had it wrapped in a blanket.

[Mike @ Jan 15th 2008 12:05PM]

Its not that they are siding with the corporation per se. Its just that the story does sound fishy. I mean gas lines in houses can explode and not force people to jump out of second story buildings (although its a lot more likely in that situation). IF the laptop did indeed explode like they say the explosion wouldn't be some major deafening force or a fireball or anything. Plenty of time to make it to a doorway and get out of the house. Unless you sit there staring at a fire engulfing your room for 20 minutes then decide to leave because it starts to get a little hot.

[Luis @ Jan 15th 2008 12:07PM]

I'm going to guess that the laptop was sitting on dynamite, fireworks, kindling soaked in gasoline in a room with SFX explosives implanted in the walls and handled by remote control timed with the jump of his daughter out of the window so bits would blow everywhere. And that really isn't a good place to put your laptop, no matter where you bought it from.

[Mortinus @ Jan 15th 2008 2:00PM]

I love the comments that should stem from a fire marshall/investigator that instead are pieced together from certified peanuts. Kodd is the only one who has a grasp of how fires might actually occur and have this outcome...What if the girl fell asleep w/ the laptop on her desk or bed and she wakes up to see a blazing inferno surrounding her. Walker Texas Ranger apparently isn't the only one who can do forward flips out a 2nd story window without dying! Lil'Ninja FTW.

[Travis @ Jan 15th 2008 2:20PM]

Not only that - the thing EXPLODED. Get it - explosion. By definition, that would be a pretty violent incendiary event, not just a trickle of flames up a curtain. It would cause a lot of chaos, I'm sure. Think about how startling a firecracker is, or a misfiring car, if you're not expecting it. Now imagine your computer (here it comes!) EXPLODING. Did you guys read about the Korean guy whose cell phone battery exploded on a work site and killed him? His supervisor pulled the melted burning lump out of his chest pocket (well, now they're saying something else happened too, but still - crazy).

[Cody Peterson @ Jan 15th 2008 2:10PM]

I am using that EXACT preario thats in this picture as we speak, and I am glad to report my house is intact and I have not been forced to leap out of any windows..... yet

[Mikee @ Jan 15th 2008 2:25PM]

Exploding laptops are very serious, and has unfortunately become an ever more common problem. I think many here are downplaying the incident, since they have never seen a laptop explode. There are several images and videos on the internet that showcase what could happen. Some laptop fires are slow, whereas others literally explode.

Take a look at these:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tC0UWIYswKI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WeWq6rWzChw

If this happened on your lap, you would be in big trouble:
http://www.gearlog.com/images/15386.jpg

It also really doesn’t matter if the battery isn’t made by HP. It’s still their responsibility, since they made the laptop with that battery.

[johnzilla @ Jan 15th 2008 3:35PM]

You're assuming:

a) the guy's story is legit
b) the use of the word "explode" is, in fact, what happened

The article is not reporting what happened, the article is reporting that someone filed suit against HP. There's a major difference between the two.

[Mikee @ Jan 15th 2008 5:28PM]

My reply is below.

[BigD145 @ Jan 15th 2008 2:25PM]

Anything bought at WalMart would give me extreme mental anguish. Just looking at the building would do it.

[NxP3 @ Jan 15th 2008 2:36PM]

Yeah, some people here are very insensitive to the situation. First, his house is burnt, do you think he really wanted that to happen. And the fire could happen at night where it was too late for the girl to respond in a coherent manner. She could have pannicked in the night and got out the window injuring herself. It doesn't matter if the battery is not made by HP. It is HP's product and they sold it to the consumer. They shouldn't have used cheap parts that could explode.

[Evan @ Jan 15th 2008 2:39PM]

That photo they use looks eerily similar to my lappy.

Commencing shutdown in 5, 4, 3, 2...

[Kodd @ Jan 15th 2008 3:33PM]

All of your comments seemed to be based on information you don't have. You all seem to make the assumption that it was her laptop and was in her room or something. What if it was the family's laptop and in an office or something? Battery explodes, starting the office on fire, which burns into the hallway, cutting off the exit route from the girls room - I dunno about you guys, but I would jump out the window too.

[k4m1k4z3 @ Jan 15th 2008 2:59PM]

no, apparently they saw the thing catch fire because they know it was sudden
"it suddenly burst into flames, catching his entire house on fire"
If they see it suddenly burst into flames, they could have easily put the fire out or gotten out of the house. A laptop exploding isn't going to engulf an entire house in flames(unless the guy lived in a box or something...which wouldn't explain jumping from a 2nd story window...maybe th lived in a small tree house?)

The whole thing seems entirely fishy and I think its just a guy trying to collect insurance $$ and to get a bunch of money of HP

[johnzilla @ Jan 15th 2008 3:20PM]

Yeah, and what if the laptop was plugged into an outlet with 900 other electrical devices, thereby causing an electrical fire due to circuit overload? Maybe the guy is using a penny as a fuse.

Oh, right, silly me, that would never happen because the guy is automatically telling the truth.

Automatically assuming the guy is telling the truth is no more reasonable than automatically doubting his story.

[What?! @ Jan 15th 2008 4:17PM]

I have the same notebook, a Presario R3000. Two and a half years ago, there was a recall and I was sent a nice 12-cell replacement. The affected battery had a lot of wear anyway.

Didn't this guy ever check to see if his battery was under recall?

[Mikee @ Jan 15th 2008 5:25PM]

Yes, I am assuming your 2 points, however, most of the comments here seem to blow off any severity of the issue. Not everything is user-error. Exploding laptops is a real problem, and can very well harm someone or cause a house to burn down.

[Mikee @ Jan 15th 2008 5:27PM]

This was in reply to Johnzilla.

[fritz70 @ Jan 15th 2008 5:42PM]

i had one of these. caught on fire too.. . at least smoke. on my lap. i guess that's why its not called a laptop but a notebook. i got it replaced for an hp, not a compaq. better experience.

[Eric @ Jan 15th 2008 8:32PM]

Imagine my surprise when I read a headline about an exploding laptop and I see that the picture is of THE EXACT SAME Presario I am writing this comment on. Scary stuff...

[smacky_wolf @ Jan 16th 2008 12:59AM]

Any word on exactly which line of the Presarios it was? I have a V2000 that likes to melt powercords...


Just because I know what's going on, I think that's the only reason mine hasn't detonated. Should I let mine explode and then see if HP want to do anything about it? It's out of warranty now.

Battery lasts 4 minutes max, and I have two power cables that are literally melted due to the HEAT that comes from it.