Ann-Marie O’Gorman: Warning after mum electrocuted while holding charging mobile phone in bath

A mother of three was electrocuted after holding a mobile phone that was being charged while she took a bath, with her devastated husband now warning people not to be lulled into a false sense of security by claims phones are waterproof.

Ann-Marie O’Gorman, 46, was discovered lying on her side in an ensuite bath at her Dublin home by husband Joe on October 30 last year.

At an inquest into her death, Mr O’Gorman said he had just returned home after taking their youngest daughter to her first disco when he found his wife unresponsive.

He said he last spoke to her briefly on the phone while driving home at about 8pm and believed she was in the bath at that time.

Mr O’Gorman said he found an iPhone and a charging cable in the bath and, when he lifted his wife from the water, received a small electric shock.

While giving his wife CPR he also noticed red marks on her hands and chest, Mr O’Gorman reportedly told Dublin District Coroner’s Court.

He said a three metre long charging cord had been plugged into a socket in the bedroom while the iPhone was “just barely in the water”.

Ms O’Gorman was considered fit and healthy and attended the gym every morning, despite having blood clotting disorder Von Willebrand disease, and a thyroid condition known as Graves’ disease.

Mr O’Gorman complained to the coroner that iPhones gave no warning about the danger of coming into contact with water while charging.

He cited two other cases, one in London in 2017 where a man had died and another in the US where a child had died in similar circumstances and called for warnings to be displayed on the packaging of all electronic devices.

“The only thing you hear about is how these phones are great in up to six feet of water. It gives people the idea that you can have your phone near water,” The Journal reports.

“There should be warnings that this is dangerous.”

“There’s nothing being done about this whatsoever by any provider to say this is a hazard you could die from. That is all that people have to know.”

Apple’s iPhone user safety information warns “charging when moisture is present, can cause fire, electric shock, injury, or damage to iPhone or other property”.

Paul Collins, a consultant forensic engineer, told the inquest he believed the phone had fallen in the water and as Ms O’Gorman turned to retrieve it, her right finger came into contact with the handle of a shower attachment which caused the electric current to run through her body.

He said even though mobile phone chargers had a low voltage, it was “more than enough” to kill a person.

Coroner Crona Gallagher described the incident as a “horrendous tragedy” and ruled Ms O’Gorman’s cause of death to be electrocution by charging cable and phone while in a bath.

Ms Gallagher said she would consider which parties needed to be notified about the concerns raised at the inquest and would contact them in due course.