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N.M. Man Sues Neighbor over Electronics Use
A New Mexico man is claiming $530,000 in damages because his neighbor won't turn off her iPhone, wireless router, laptop and other devices.
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January 15, 2010 | by Arlen Schweiger

It’s one thing to get sneaky on your neighbors by piggybacking off of their WiFi so you can get free Internet.

It’s quite another story when you go to court seeking over $500K in damages because your neighbor won’t stop using a WiFi router, or other popular electronics devices like an iPhone, laptop charger and lighting dimmer switches.

But that’s what New Mexican Arthur Firstenberg is doing, alleging pain and suffering in a lawsuit against his neighbor because those on-24/7 electronics are feeding the Electromagnetic Sensitivity (EMS) he claims to suffer from, the Santa Fe Reporter and Huffington Post are reporting. It doesn’t sound like the kind of fun that everyone else with an iPhone is having—Firstenberg claims the electromagnetic radiation from the laptop charger, wireless modem, et al are causing “nausea, vertigo, diarrhea, ringing in the ears, severe headaches and body aches, crippling joint pains, insomnia, impaired vision, impaired muscular control” hence the $530,000 he’s seeking.

Firstenberg has other supporters for his cause, who have outcried against public WiFi (don’t they know how great Barnes & Noble or Panera are when you’re in a bind?) in Santa Fe.

We’re not trying to be completely insensitive to Firstenberg’s case, but the money seems a bit much ... maybe Apple can dig into its deep pockets though to help. We’ll have to see what the court says about this matter, but hopefully no one comes knocking on your door. We don’t want to cause any iPhone/WiFi rage, or give you any more reason to battle your neighbors.



Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine
Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.



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Comments (6) Most recent displayed first.
Posted by Alphaman  on  01/30/10  at  12:45 AM

I think we all have a lot of compassion.  What we don’t have is sympathy for a misdiagnosis, especially one that blames some woo-woo made-up “disease”.  EMS is *not* real, it’s an impossibility, and anyone who thinks this is the source of their problems—physical problems that may indeed be very real—is not helping themselves.  You’re barking up the wrong tree, and need to find some real help to get to the root of your problem.

There are NO properly performed, double-blind, placebo controlled studies that have reproducibly shown that EMS is real.  NONE.  ZIP.  NADA.  Every study has shown there is no causal link.  Anecdotes and opinions are not studies, and this has nothing to do with “living green”.

“The National Research Council (NRC) spent more than three years reviewing more than 500 scientific studies that had been conducted over a 20-year period and found ‘no conclusive and consistent evidence’ that electromagnetic fields harm humans.” (See first ref below)

Really, if you are experiencing the symptoms you say, you do need help.  Blaming this on EMS is a red herring, lightening your wallet, and leading you further from the truth and a real solution to your ailment.

I really hope that you, and the poor guy in NM, can find the real cause to your problems, but the only way you’ll be able to do it is by forgetting the mystical EMS and getting real help.

Ref: http://www.skepdic.com/electrosensitives.html
http://www.skepdic.com/emf.html
http://www.csicop.org/si/show/power_line_panic_and_mobile_mania/

Posted by someone with compassion  on  01/29/10  at  03:32 PM

The name calling is unnecessary.  How funortunate that you all have no compassion.  If I carry a cell phone for more than ½ hour, I can barely walk.  I can “feel” which of my neighbors have cable and cell phones.  I can’t live near a power station.  There’s no reason that things can’t be turned off when not in use, especially at night, so he can at least get some sleep.  You can’t get off of the grid, nor should he have to.  Why should he be exiled?  He has done nothing wrong.  Since he likely needs more doctor appointments, Rs’s etc,  than you do, he should be allowed to live near the medical treatment that he needs.  There are more studies proving EMS than not.  Live Green.  Be kind.

Posted by Jarrod  on  01/19/10  at  08:51 AM

She ought to try turning everything off and seeing if he still complains.  I’m not original.  It’s what a cell phone company in South Africa did when residents started complaining. 

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/159052

Posted by Santa Fe Gal  on  01/17/10  at  10:15 PM

What a quack.  There are so many weirdos here in Santa Fe.  I feel sorry for his neighbor.

If he really thought he was getting sick, he should move out of the city, and live somewhere remote and off the grid!  He’s a loser.

Posted by Alphaman  on  01/16/10  at  01:02 PM

I’m sorry, but “EMS” has been proven to be a fraud time and time again.  Dozens of studies from around the globe have shown that there is NO link to the reported symptoms from electromagnetic radiation.  He may genuinely have something wrong with him, but blaming it on EMF is just wrong.

If he can truly sense EMF, then I’ve got a role for him on the next X-Men movie, as a mutant!

This guy’s out to make a quick buck.  Loser.


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