Court Allows Expert Testimony in Litigation Alleging Cell Phone-Linked Tumors
According to Consumers' Legal Team PR Newswire
Press Release in WASHINGTON on August 8th, 2014
Ashcraft & Gerel LLP and Morganroth and Morganroth PLLC and Lundy Lundy Soileau & South L.L.P. and co-counsel said today that a Washington D.C. superior court has ruled that five scientific expert witnesses can testify for consumers suffering from brain tumours. These tumours are allegedly caused or promoted by mobile (cell) phone use.
The presiding Judge Frederick H. Weisberg, who is overseeing thirteen lawsuits against the telecom industry, ruled that these five experts met the Dyas/Frye legal standards and can offer expert testimony related to injury causation and health effects. The court held evidence hearings in December 2013 and January 2014 and has reviewed hundreds of exhibits.
Judge Weisberg noted that while the court did not decide whether mobile (cell) phones cause brain tumours, new scientific studies and information have emerged recently. His order referred to a French case-control epidemiological study in May 2014, that found support for "a possible link between heavy mobile phone use" and brain tumours.
Each of the plaintiffs in the litigation suffers from a brain tumour or is suing on behalf of a family member who has died of brain cancer. The plaintiffs’ legal representatives said, "The telecoms industry argued for years that cell phone consumer litigants could not produce scientists who could relate exposure to cell phone radiation to tumours. The ruling today refutes that contention, and our experts' opinions having met the Dyas/Frye test are admissible."
Jeffrey B. Morganroth of Morganroth and Morganroth PLLC said, "We now have testimony from prominent scientific experts that support our clients' claims that cell phone radiation can cause brain tumours. With this landmark ruling, the cases are moving forward to fact discovery."
The first of the consolidated cases is "Michael Patrick Murray et al. v. Motorola Inc. et al." Case No. 2001 CA008479B in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. The four defendants in the cases are Motorola Inc., Qualcomm Inc., Nokia Inc., Audiovox Communications Corp., and Samsung Telecomm American LLC.
Contact: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC for Ashcraft Gerel LLP info@powersmediaworks.com.
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