We’ve long heard the rumor that radiation from cell phones can give you brain cancer, but an Italian court just ruled in favor of that idea, saying that improper use of a company-issued cell phone caused an executive to develop a benign brain tumor.
The Telecom Italia employee, Roberto Romeo, said that his work obligations led him to use the cell phone for three to four hours a day for 15 years, according to a report by Agence France-Press. Romeo sued the state social security agency, not Telecom Italia, where he is still currently employed.
“I started to have the feeling of my right ear being blocked all the time, and the tumor was diagnosed in 2010,” Romeo said. “Happily, it was benign, but I can no longer hear anything because they had to remove my acoustic nerve.”
The New York Daily News reports the court ruled in Romeo’s favor and as a result, Romeo will receive between 6,000 and 7,000 euros – or $6,000 – $7,500 – a year in state-funded pension.
This pension covers accidents in the workplace and was awarded after a medical examination concluded Romeo’s bodily function had been affected by 23 percent.
“For the first time in the world, a court has recognized a causal link between inappropriate use of a mobile phone and a brain tumor,” Stefano Bertone and Renato Ambrosio, Romeo’s lawyers, said in a statement.
This verdict is being called a “landmark” decision, but there was actually a similar case in Italy five years ago, according to Venture Beat. Guess this one just managed to get more attention.
The ruling is still subject to possible appeal, so we may be hearing more of Romeo in the near future.