Verizon won’t push Samsung’s Note 7 bricking update

There is a small risk in the possibility of the phone exploding. (Most don't. And the phones still out there have worked correctly since they came out, presumably.) There's also a risk of disabling a device which a user might be counting on to reach 911, which may, in fact, be more likely.

Arguably, if you are starving (literally), contaminated food may be the better choice, if say, we can cure that later, but without the food, you'd die now.

It's all a question of competing factors of risk.