San Angelo Woman Sues Because She Slept With Her Smartphone When It Burned Her

SAN ANGELO, TX — A San Angelo woman has sued smartphone manufacturer TCL Communication, Inc. in federal court, claiming her TCL ION X phone (Model T430W) severely burned her when its lithium-ion battery overheated while charging on Thanksgiving Day 2023.

Kimberly C. Barron, a San Angelo resident, purchased the phone from the San Angelo Walmart Supercenter in September 2023. Just two months later, on or about November 23, 2023, the device allegedly overheated while charging and came into contact with her lower back, causing first- and third-degree burns. She continues to suffer permanent scarring and skin discoloration from the incident.

Barron claimed the phone burned her after she fell asleep in bed with the phone next to her on a charging cord. Sometime during the night, she rolled over and onto the allegedly hot smartphone and because of contact with the phone, "sustained firstand third-degree burns to her lower back." According to the lawsuit,  "While reading on her phone, Plaintiff drifted off to sleep; dropping the phone face-down on her bed. As she slept, Plaintiff rolled over and ended up lying on top of the phone. She was later awoken by intense pain in her lower back and discovered the smartphone had burned her."

The lawsuit claimed that, "Plaintiff continues to have scarring and discoloration where the subject smartphone burned her."

The lawsuit, filed November 17, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, San Angelo Division, accuses TCL of selling a dangerously defective product. The complaint specifically alleges the phone's Alcatel TLI028C7 lithium-ion battery was prone to "thermal runaway" — a known hazard where the battery enters an uncontrollable self-heating state that can lead to extreme temperatures, fire, smoke, or violent venting.

Barron's attorneys contend the phone and battery were defectively designed, defectively manufactured, and lacked adequate warnings about the risks of overheating or thermal runaway. The suit brings claims of strict products liability, negligence, and breach of express and implied warranties.

Despite TCL's marketing that promotes the ION X as having a "robust" battery that provides "stress-free charging" and keeps users "powered throughout the day," the complaint states the company knew or should have known of the dangers posed by poorly designed lithium-ion batteries yet failed to make the product safe.

Barron is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $75,000 for past and future medical expenses, physical pain, mental anguish, lost wages, diminished enjoyment of life.

She is represented by the national products liability firm Johnson Becker, PLLC (which has handled numerous lithium-ion battery burn/explosion cases) along with local counsel Clark, Von Plonski & Anderson in San Angelo.

TCL Communication, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in Irvine, California, has not yet filed a response in the docket. 

The case remains in its early stages as  TCL Communication Inc. was served Nov. 20, 2025, according to court records.