( CNN ) A New York man says his smartphone blew up in his pocket and that he wound up in a hospital . Erik Johnson of Lindenhurst says his iPhone 5C spontaneously erupted in extreme heat while it was in his pants pocket , giving him second- and third-degree burnson his leg the size of a football . He was headed to a wake for his cousin in New Jersey on February 14 , Johnson said , and he dropped his car keys . `` When I went to bend over , I heard a pop , '' he told CNN . `` I heard a sizzling , and I ended up ripping my pants off to stop it from burning me . '' Johnson said he did n't know what was causing the pain at first and there was no warning -- just an extreme burn and a lot of pain . In a panic , he quickly started ripping at his pants as the phone began to melt the edges of his pocket shut , he said . `` I was trying to get it out of my pocket , '' he said . `` It started burning right through my pants . It was burning my leg , and I had to get my pants off somehow . '' Johnson 's brother , who was with him at the time , decided driving him to the hospital would be faster than dialing 911 , Johnson said . They drove to the Bayonne Medical Center in New Jersey . After being evaluated in the emergency room , Johnson was taken by ambulance to the Burn Center at Staten Island University Hospital . The burn center confirmed to CNN that he spent 10 days there receiving treatment . `` I still ca n't believe it , '' Johnson said . `` I 've never dealt with anything like this before . '' He works as an operating engineer in New York City , maintaining escalators , cranes and forklifts . He said now he is at home with family in Lindenhurst , and a nurse comes in every day to change his bandage . In the meantime , he said , he has n't even thought about buying a new phone . Mike Della , a personal injury lawyer on Long Island who is representing Johnson , says despite two phone calls and a letter , Apple had not yet responded to his queries about why his client 's phone suddenly exploded in heat . CNN reached out to Apple , and the company stated that it is looking into the incident . Johnson purchased the phone last year and had not been using a battery case or third-party charger , Della said . `` First and foremost , we have to find out how this happened and prevent it from happening ever again , '' Della told CNN . `` That 's the whole goal here . Is the product safe ? '' Della said because of this case , he now is quick to take extra precautions with his phone . `` Now , every single time I have my iPhone , instead of putting it in my pocket , I put it in the seat next to me because of this case , '' he said . `` My wife does the same thing , and so does everyone else at the ( law ) firm . It 's a little scary . '' `` You should n't have to worry about your phone exploding , '' he said .
Johnson says when he bent over to pick up his keys , `` I heard a pop '' His phone had exploded , he was burned and had to be hospitalized , he says . Apple says it is looking into the incident .