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Cell Phone Radiation Suit Dismissed

March 8, 2003

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A federal judge has thrown out five class action lawsuits that claimed cell phone manufacturers were negligent in not providing headsets to protect users from the radio-frequency radiation emitted by cell phones.

In Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake dismissed the suits on the grounds that federal standards regulating cell phones pre-empt the state laws under which the suits were filed. Her ruling did not address the question of whether cell phone emissions represent a health hazard.

The judge said that the Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration have the authority to regulate cell phones and their decisions are not subject to state review.

The suits, filed in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia and Louisiana, claimed that Nokia and Motorola had failed to advise users of their cell phones that headsets could reduce the risk of brain tumors.

Last September, Judge Blake dismissed an $800 million lawsuit filed by a Baltimore neurologist who claimed his cell phone gave him brain cancer. That suit had been filed by Peter Angelos, a prominent Baltimore attorney who was also involved in the five suits dismissed this week.

Several studies have found no adverse health effects from cell phones and most scientists say the frequencies used by cell phones are not dangerous, even when used in close proximity to the brain. However, both the FDA and FCC say they support additional research.

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