Jon Swartz

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Samsung has an exploding phone problem, and it isn't just the Galaxy Note 7.

So claims a California man in a lawsuit filed in federal court in New Jersey last week. Daniel Ramirez says a Galaxy S7 Edge badly burned his right leg when it burst into flames in late May.

Ramirez, who was working a construction job in Akron, Ohio, says he "heard a whistling and screeching sound and noticed his (right-front) pocket vibrating and moving around, as well as thick smoke ascending from his pocket," according to the 19-page suit. The Tracy, Calif., resident said he suffered second- and third-degree burns to his right upper leg and right thumb and index finger when the handset ignited his pants and "melted" them to his leg.

Ramirez is seeking more than $15,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

It's unclear what caused the handset to ignite but it could be related to the phone's battery, the root of problems with the Galaxy Note 7, says Michael Morgan, a Florida lawyer representing Ramirez. Morgan said he was aware of a similar case involving another Samsung phone.

Late Thursday, Samsung said it was recalling 1 million Note 7 units sold before Sept. 15 because of "serious fire and burn hazards." Overheating of the phone's battery resulted in 26 reports of burns in the U.S., and 55 of property damage, according to Samsung.

In an email statement to USA TODAY on Thursday, a Samsung spokesperson said, "Recent reports suggesting Samsung’s battery issue goes beyond the Galaxy Note 7 are not true. The battery cell issue announced earlier this month is isolated to one battery manufacturer for one specific phone model."

While Samsung acknowledged "extremely rare cases" of overheating in other devices, they were caused by "external circumstances" and not related to product quality, the company said.

Two British tabloids this week reported an S7 exploded in a teacher's hands in a cafe in England.

The South Korean electronics giant is entangled in a major recall of the Note 7, a critical and commercial success that has been dogged by a combustible battery when charged. That device, released in August, quickly sold more than 2.5 million units.

Samsung has sold tens of millions of the Galaxy S7 and the slightly bigger S7 Edge phones since they debuted in March.

Follow USA TODAY San Francisco Bureau Chief Jon Swartz @jswartz on Twitter.