No, very likely not a malfuction. Very likely a false accusation and an outright lie.
The USB power is carefully monitored by several chips, and the USB hub is directly connected to the South Bridge chip. There is practically no way that this sort of power could possibly make it through to the USB connector, as there are power regulation circuitry that is in place SPECIFICALLY designed to prevent this exact scenario.
This case was definitely not only considered in the USB spec, it’s also a key component to the motherboard designers. The power supply makes 5 Volts, and then several other devices are in circuit that are in charge of monitoring and shutting down the power if the power demand is above expected levels. A maximum expected level would be 500 mA. At this point a circuit would detect that maximum power has been exceeded and the port would be shut off, with a critical power draw note in the system log.
Unless the parents can provide a motherboard that beats every concieveable failure analysis scenario, I cannot see how this is remotely possible.
To put this in laymans terms, this is like a mid-air collision between a Boeing 747 and a VW Mini-bus. It just aint’ gonna happen.
OK
I agree 100%. IMO, the parents are lying and covering up their own irresponsible actions. Perhaps, even, criminal actions. You’d think hospital staff, Doctors especially, would have recognised this.
Praying for a full physical and emotional recovery for her.