More and more people are bringing cases to court claiming that they are “allergic” to Wi-Fi.
Electromagnetic sensitivity has been a hot-button issue for years. In fact, in May of this year, more than 190 scientists from 40 countries asked the United Nations and World Health Organization to provide greater protection against radiation.
Yet despite still not being recognized as a legitimate condition by the WHO, more court cases are cropping up.
In September, a French woman named Marine Richard claimed her sensitivity made her unable to work. In her case, she was given a $900/month disability stipend for her condition. Currently, electromagnetic sensitivity is poorly researched and is often self-diagnosed. Many in the medical field are trying to change this and help it be recognized as a real illness.
Though electromagnetic fields have always been a part of the planet, the rise of technology has made it worse. Numerous people across several countries have reported symptoms including headache, nausea, and depression when exposed to electromagnetic fields. Those fields come from TVs, cell phones, power lines, Wi-Fi routers, and basically anything that sends waves out.
After the French case, a Massachusetts couple sued their child’s school for $250,000 after they claimed their son got rashes, nosebleeds, and dizziness after the school updated their Wi-Fi.
Aside from asking for compensation in the courts, there are also people moving to the middle of nowhere hoping to escape the electromagnetic fields of civilization. Richard, for example, lives in a barn in a rural part of France now and says her case was a breakthrough for others.
There are very few scientific studies that have been done to collect information on this topic. Currently, it is recognized that while the symptoms are real, the source doesn’t seem to be dangerous.
While many are trying to change this fact, it remains that it is a nightmare for journalists to report on. Court cases are being won on an illness with nothing to back it up, making it hard for journalists to pinpoint research for articles.
George Johnson, a writer for the New York Times, reported on a New Mexico case in March on EHS. He said the case “shows how two of civilization’s great bodies of thought — the scientific and the legal — can make for an uneasy mix.”
