Can someone explain how a charger could electrocute someone? I can not imagine how enough amps could be transferred in such a small diameter wire to kill someone.
After reading other replys I would have to agree, it must have been an extension cord that fell into the bath.
It is most likely that the "charger" did not electrocute the person. However, the 115 VAC 60 Hz electricity that the charger plugs into will.
Remember when chargers used to be fat heavy things instead of the nearly weightless things they are now? That’s because they used transformers to reduce the voltage from 120VAC (which can kill you) to 12 or so volts DC which cannot. The transformer also provided galvanic isolation, which means the thing being charged was totally disconnected electrically from the AC wiring. These chargers have virtually been eliminated because of the “green” push because each transformer draws a tiny amount of current as long as it’s plugged in, which of course “adds up” to something less than what Algore burns in one of his private jet trips, but that’s beside the point. We needed laws to protect us from wasting energy and by damn, we got them.
Modern chargers use switchmode technology which does not provide the same degree of isolation or intrinsic voltage reduction. They are considered “safe” by virtue of putting all the nasty stuff inside plastic where you can’t touch it, and depending on people to plug them into the wall as intended. If you use an extension cord that could allow the AC line to contact the bathwater, all bets are off with either type of charger.
If everything works as designed it shouldn't cause a problem. But a wiring error or manufacturing defect might allow the 120 volt "hot" wire to float on the charger output. In such a case the problem could go unnoticed in a dry environment where there is no path to ground. But in the bathtub — zap!
It only takes 0.1 amps to be fatal.