Tragedy in Dublin: woman electrocuted while charging her phone
7 October 07:18
A tragic event took place in Dublin – 46-year-old Anne-Marie O’Gorman, a mother of three, died after being electrocuted while using her phone connected to a charger in the bathtub. The woman was found by her husband Joe O’Gorman in their home. This was reported by People, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
The last conversation with her husband
That evening, Joe left home at 6:40 p.m. to take his youngest daughter to a disco.
At 19:58, he called his wife – the conversation lasted only 23 seconds. The man assumes that Anne-Marie was in the bathroom at the time.
When he returned home, he went to the bathroom to tell his daughter how her evening was, but saw his wife lying on her side. When he touched her face, he realized that she was unresponsive. Next to her in the water, he saw an iPhone with a charging cable, which he immediately threw into the sink.
“I felt the shock too”
Joe told the court that when he was pulling his wife’s body out of the water, he received a mild electric shock himself. After that, he asked his eldest daughter to call an ambulance and began to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on his wife.
On Anne-Marie’s arms and chest, doctors found burn marks typical of an electric shock.
What the investigation found
Paramedics arrived at 20:38, but the woman did not respond to any treatment. Medical examiner Heidi Ockers confirmed that the death was caused by an electric shock from a charging cable and phone that fell into the water.
Toxicology tests did not reveal alcohol or drugs, and her chronic illnesses – von Willebrand’s syndrome and Graves’ disease – did not contribute to the cause of death.
The phone was plugged into an outlet in the next room
According to the findings of forensic engineer Paul Collins, the charging cable, which was almost 3 meters (9.8 feet) long, was plugged into an outlet in the bedroom, and the phone “barely touched the water.”
Apparently, the device had fallen into the bathtub, and when Anne-Marie reached out to retrieve it, her finger touched a metal element of the shower, causing a current to pass through her body.
“It’s strange to say, but if she hadn ‘t pulled her hand out of the water, she might have survived,” the expert said.
An appeal to phone manufacturers
After the tragedy, Joe O’Gorman called on manufacturers to print warnings on the packaging of electronic devices.
“We are all told that phones ‘can withstand up to two meters underwater’ and this creates a false sense of security. People need to know that it is deadly,” he said
“No company warns about the real risk of death.
The court’s conclusion
The official cause of death of Anne-Marie O’Gorman was an electric shock while using a charged phone in the bathtub.
The Dublin court concluded its investigation by emphasizing the need to strengthen information warnings about the dangers of using electronic devices near water.
