Apple Apple iPhone 8 is overheating and not working! Santa Clara California

I purchased an Apple iPhone 8 in September 2017 and experience no major issues until last night (June 18, 2019). I was using my phone when the screen suddenly went black and started to overheat. I do not mean it was getting warm...I mean it was getting extremely hot...so hot that it started to burn my fingers and I had to put the phone down on the table.

The unit kept getting increasingly hot, I was surprised the housing did not melt. I feared that the phone was going to explode or start a fire. I immediately called Apple Support but no one was available to take my call (after 10:00 PM) so I let the phone sit overnight to cool down. First thing in the morning, the phone has finally cooled but it would not power on. I tried a forced restart but it still would not power on so I made an appointment to take the phone to the Apple Store to be diagnosed.

The Apple tech performed an integrated current checker but was unable to power the phone up. When I asked what had caused the malfunction/failure, he stated that he could not diagnose the problem because it would be more costly to inspect the internal components, but thought is was either a port issue for a defect in the motherboard. Instead, he offered to sell me another phone (could be new, refurbished or a replacement..>throw of the dice<) at out-of-warranty costs ($349.00 plus tax). I would not have expected that a brand new phone would have a catastrophic failure after 1 1/2 years of normal use.

I noted several other similar complaints/issues raised by other Apple iPhone owners but no adequate remedies.  Am considering taking legal action since obviously Apple is aware of some problem with their phones overheating.  Why should a consumer be responsible for a substantial hardware failure or manufacturer's defect? I feel cheated.