dbs888

One further comment:

It's pretty naive to say: "surely Apple wouldn't ask for an NDA"!

Maybe Timmy wouldn't ask, but Apple's lawyers sure as heck would -- standard procedure.

NDAs are abhorrent. Usually they are used to try and suppress information that should be public (despite Fifth Amendment protections). 

But, so long as NDAs are legal, Apple's Directors would be negligent if they didn't require the lawyers to cover the company's behind.

Tough comments here this AM.

Also a lot of uninformed blather. 

I had a lithium ion battery self-combust. It was packed in a carry-on suitcase and stowed in the overhead bin of a flight destined for Germany. As the cabin crew was making final boarding preparations the bin started smoking. They quickly removed the bag and carried it off the plane to the tarmac where it proceeded to burn (despite the efforts of at least half a dozen firemen and assorted extinguishers). The flight finally departed about an hour late. Some months later I got a summons from the FAA (I think) proposing to fine me several thousand dollars for the incident notwithstanding the bag had passed several layers of federal scrutiny before I boarded the airplane.

LI batteries can, and do, self-immolate. They may be "safe" 99% of the time. But that 1% is a bear. There may be no warning whatsoever and, once it starts, almost nothing you can do about it except let it burn out. I can say with 100% conviction that my battery wasn't damaged, hadn't been subjected to any blows (sharp, dull or otherwise) or unusual temperatures. It was also relatively new -- not more than 6 months old.

I'm pretty sure that this kind of incident -- LI batteries self-immolating -- is far more common than any governmental agency will admit.

So all of the comments here about "scam" and "his own fault" etc. are, in my experience, pretty ignorant.