London, March 14: Apple has landed in legal trouble after a mother alleged her son endured second-degree burns when the company’s iPod touch music players exploded in his pocket.

Lynette Antrobus, from Cincinnati, is claiming 75,000 dollars plus punitive damage after accusing the multinational corporation of “gross negligence and recklessness” and of behaving “maliciously and fraudulently”.

Legal papers, filed with Ohio Southern District Court, said that while at school on December 4 last year, the child heard an “unexpected pop” from the gadget, that was switched off, then a “burning sensation” followed by the realisation that his “pants” were on fire.

“Plaintiff A. V immediately ran to the bathroom and took off his burning pants with the assistance of a friend,” the Telegraph quoted the document as saying.

“[The iPod touch] had burned through Plaintiff A. V’s pants pocket and melted through his nylon/spandex underwear, burning his leg,” it was added.

While Apple is yet to issue a statement regarding the case, the device’s battery is thought to have caused the alleged explosion.

The consumer electronic and software giant had in 2008 paid an undisclosed amount to a man after he suffered burns when his Mac laptop battery caught fire. (ANI)