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29 Aug, 2019

FeganScott: Consumers Sue Apple, Samsung Citing New Study Questioning RF Radiation

Editor’s Note: An issue worth discussing at Travel Technology forums? I wouldn’t hold my breath.

CHICAGO, 26 August 2019, BUSINESS WIRE – A group of smart phone owners filed a proposed class action suit against Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) and Apple (AAPL), claiming the manufacturers knowingly subjected smartphone users to RF radiation levels far in excess of mandated limits while misrepresenting the smartphones’ safety, according to FeganScott, the law firm representing the proposed class action lawsuit.

The suit was filed after recent studies demonstrated that cell phone owners carrying these devices could be receiving RF radiation well over the limits that are considered safe, and in some instances, by as much as 500 percent.

Last week, The Chicago Tribune published the results of a study done by an accredited lab showing that the iPhone 7, one of Apple’s most successful products, was just one of many products that emitted RF radiation well above what it reported to federal regulators.

The Federal Communications Commission took the rare step of announcing that the agency was launching its own investigation based on the findings, the newspaper reported.

The complaint also cites recently published research that RF radiation at the levels generated by Samsung Galaxy and the Apple iPhone can have serious impact to organisms – including humans – including increased cancer risk and genetic damage.

“We intend to show that Apple and Samsung were fully aware that, under certain circumstances, their smartphones put users directly in harm’s way, dosing them with levels of RF radiation that dramatically exceed what they are telling consumers,” said Beth Fegan, founding partner of FeganScott, the law firm representing the proposed class action lawsuit. “At the very least, Apple and Samsung had an obligation to disclose that their devices poured out RF radiation at much higher levels, giving consumers the right to make informed decisions about the use of the products and the prices they were willing to pay for smartphones with those risks.”

Fegan also called into question Apple and Samsung’s approach to the dealing with consumer concerns surrounding RF radiation. “Until now, these manufacturers dismissed the legitimate concerns of scientists and others, attempting to trivialize valid studies as fake science,” Fegan added. “This new study provides irrefutable evidence that smartphone manufacturers’ representations to consumers regarding safety absolutely deserve scrutiny by the courts.”

Fegan added that the federal regulators are empowered to set RF radiation exposure limits, but it’s the civil court systems’ role to lead the charge on the manufacturers’ deceptive misrepresentations and omissions.

Filed Friday in US District Court in the Northern District of California, the lawsuit seeks to represent cell phone owners who own Apple or Samsung phones.

The case was brought by 10 owners of Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhones, and if approved by the court as a class action, would represent nearly all owners of Samsung and Apple phones. The suit asks the court to order the defendants to pay for medical monitoring and damages.

FeganScott is a U.S class-action law firm dedicated to helping consumers. The firm’s partners have successfully recovered $1 billion on behalf of consumers and victims nationwide. www.feganscott.com.