The extent of the danger of cell phone radiation is yet unknown. What we do know is that using a headset can drastically reduce the risk. Class action lawsuits are now in the works to force wireless companies to provide a headset with each cell phone, free of charge. Since the wireless companies have been aware of the potential dangers for over ten years, there is no reason why they should not take this step to protect their customers.
Over the years consumers have experienced numerous detrimental effects which they correlate with cell phone use. Reported health problems range from fatigue and headaches to accelerated Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and death. In 1993 David Reynard filed a lawsuit claiming that his wife’s fatal brain cancer was caused by using her cell phone. Reynard’s late wife had a brain tumor in the shape of her cell phone antennae located in the area where she normally held her cell phone.
Currently class action suits have been filed against wireless companies for failing to provide headsets along with cellular phones. In the past, lawsuits have been filed by cancer victims and their families. The recent class action suits have been filed by cell phone users who have not developed cancer, but want companies to provide a headset with every cell phone as a safety measure to help prevent consumers from developing cancer.
Cell phone users are asking the court to require wireless companies to pay the cost of headsets, punitive damages, costs and attorneys fees and to provide instructions on how to use the headsets and information on how the headsets protect from users from RF radiation. They claim that wireless companies have misrepresented the safety of cell phones, violated state consumer protection laws, sold phones with design defects, conducted inadequate research and suppressed research which may have produced negative results, failed to inform users of the dangers of using the phones, and of course, failed to provide headsets and encourage their use.
Cell phone antennas emit microwave radiation. In order to achieve the best possible signal they must emit this radiation in all directions. Exposure to microwaves poses several types of dangers. Microwave ovens cook food by using microwaves to heat the water molecules inside of the food. Since the human brain is about 85% water, exposure to microwaves can actually heat brain tissue causing cell damage. Non-thermal dangers include damage to DNA and an increase of cancer causing free-radicals. Swedish researchers have discovered that 2 hours of exposure to radiation from cell phones kills brain cells in rats causing impaired memory, movement and learning in adolescent rats. Research in Germany revealed that blood pressure is significantly increased in humans while they are using a cell phone. An American study showed impaired short term memory and learning in rats after just 45 minute of exposure. Even those who claim that their research is inconclusive and does not prove that cell phones are dangerous, recommend against children using them because of the potential risks to their health.
Wireless companies are aware of these dangers. In the most embarrassing example Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association hired Dr. George Carlo to conduct a $28 million project researching the health effects of using cell phones. Rather than finding the results that the company had hoped for he discovered that cell phones increase the risk of death from brain cancer, tumors and genetic defects. He alerted the industry in a letter to the president of AT&T and later published a book warning of the dangers of using cell phones Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age.
Headsets significantly reduce the amount of radiation absorbed by the body. Radiation decreases exponentially with distance. Using a headset which increases the distance of the cell phone from your body can significantly reduce RF exposure. By informing consumers of the potential health risks of using cell phones and providing headsets with every phone, wireless companies can substantially lower the risk associated with the products that they sell.
If you feel concerned with these or other issues concerning defective products, feel free to call on Jacoby and Meyers Law Offices in San Diego, California.
