SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National consumer-rights law firm FeganScott consolidated its two proposed class action suits against Apple (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) after independent testing from a Federal Communications Commission-accredited laboratory confirmed that radio-frequency (RF) radiation levels from popular Apple and Samsung smartphones far exceeded federal limits when the devices are used as marketed by the manufacturers.

Beth Fegan, managing partner of FeganScott and the attorney representing the consolidated suit, which was filed after the firm hired the industry-recognized lab, says that smartphone manufacturers must take responsibility for misleading consumers about the levels of RF radiation emitted by their smartphones when used against or in close proximity to the user’s skin.

“Apple and Samsung smartphones have changed the way we live. Adults, teenagers and children wake up to check their email or play games and do work or school exercises on their smartphones. They carry these devices in their pockets throughout the day and literally fall asleep with them in their beds,” Fegan said.

“The manufacturers told consumers this was safe, so we knew it was important to test the RF radiation exposure and see if this was true,” Fegan noted. “It is not true. The independent results confirm that RF radiation levels are well over the federal exposure limit, sometimes exceeding it by 500 percent, when phones are used in the way Apple and Samsung encourage us to. Consumers deserve to know the truth.”

The FCC-accredited lab tested six different brand-new smartphone models at various distances, ranging from zero to 10 millimeters to measure the amount of RF radiation released when touching or in close proximity to the body. When tested at two millimeters, the iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8 were more than twice the federal exposure limit. At zero millimeters, the iPhone 8 was five times more than the federal exposure limit, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 was more than three times the federal exposure limit.

The consolidated suit filed by FeganScott includes a comprehensive list of all named plaintiffs and includes the extensive FCC-accredited lab test results from all the smartphones tested: iPhone 7+, iPhone 8, iPhone XR, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy S10.

The test settings reflected the smartphones’ actual use conditions, rather than the conditions set by manufacturers in order to produce results that appear to be safe for consumers.

“Smartphone owners across the country deserve to know that the RF radiation levels from smartphones when touching the skin or used close to the body may be unsafe,” Fegan noted. “The emails and calls from concerned consumers have increased as more research comes to light, and it is our goal to show that Apple and Samsung were aware of the alarmingly high radiation levels when their products arrived on the market.”

According to Pew Research Center, 96 percent of Americans own a cell phone, and of those, 81 percent own a smartphone. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, reports that 29 percent of American teens sleep with their phones in bed with them, which makes the radiation level findings especially alarming.

Filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, the lawsuit seeks to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone owners. The suit asks the court to order the defendants to pay for medical monitoring and damages.

FeganScott is a nationwide class-action law firm dedicated to helping consumers. The firm’s partners have successfully recovered $1 billion on behalf of consumers and victims nationwide. FeganScott is committed to pursuing successful outcomes with integrity and excellence, while holding unjust parties accountable. To learn more, visit www.feganscott.com.