Hearing Loss Caused by 3M Earplugs?

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IN A NUTSHELL

Who does this alert affect?

• People who used 3M dual-ended Combat Arms Earplugs while serving in the military between 2003 and 2015 who sustained hearing loss, impairment and/or tinnitus. Impacted service personnel can now bring their own claims to seek compensation for losses they have incurred, which include physical injury, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life at no cost for filing the claim.

What is happening?

• According to an investigation by the Justice Department, 3M earplugs were too short to be properly inserted into users’ ears, placing them at risk for tinnitus, hearing loss, and other long-term impairments.

What am I registering for?

• You are registering to be able to file a lawsuit or take part in what is referred to as “mass arbitration” or “alternative dispute resolution” short of filing a lawsuit in a matter.  When hundreds or thousands of customers file individual arbitration claims against the same business at the same time, over the same matter, and are subject to mandatory arbitration or alternative dispute resolution remedies, this is considered an out-of-court proceeding. This differs from class action litigation wherein an actual lawsuit must be filed, and you become part of a class of similarly situated people with the same claim.

How will a claim benefit me?

• Injured parties may receive financial compensation for their past, present, and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses incurred as a result of using the defective earplugs.

3M Defective Earplugs in more detail:

If you served in the military and were given faulty earplugs that contributed to your hearing issues, such as hearing loss or tinnitus, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

Numerous U.S. service members received faulty Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs between 2003 and 2015, which were made by 3M.

According to a Justice Department investigation, 3M earplugs were too short to be properly inserted into users’ ears, placing them at risk for tinnitus, permanent hearing loss, and other impairments.

Although the Minnesota-based 3M Company has not admitted any wrongdoing, they have agreed to pay $9.1 million to satisfy claims that it intentionally sold the government faulty military earplugs.

For soldiers operating in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2003 and 2015, the now-discontinued Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs were standard issue gear.

What type of Earplugs are we discussing?

The earplugs thought to be defective were “selective attenuation” earplugs, which were issued as standard equipment to some military branches between 2003 and 2015. They had two ends, one yellow and the other olive green, and depending on how they were worn, they provided two different levels of noise protection.

Has anyone filed a lawsuit over 3M Earplugs?

Veterans who contend that despite using 3M earplugs, they experienced hearing loss or tinnitus and brought hundreds of cases against the company.

In order to bring together the 635 military earplug claims filed in 30 federal courts across the US, a multidistrict litigation was established in April 2019. In state courts, more lawsuits have been brought against 3M.

3M has been losing these lawsuits since 2022. A Florida jury decided in favor of a former service man in the middle of June 2021 and gave the plaintiff $1.7 million in compensation for hearing loss. The jury found that 3M bore 62% of the blame for these injuries.

In another Florida court, a veteran received a jury award of more than $13 million.

When a court awarded an Army veteran $22.5 million in damages for hearing loss in December 2021, 3M was hit with its highest jury verdict to date.

Days later, 3M won a trial, but  continued to lose earplug lawsuits throughout 2021. 3M’s winning record was abruptly ended in January 2022 when a federal jury awarded $110 million to two veterans.

Following certain trials where plaintiffs received significant awards, 3M retaliated by requesting a new trial to examine “excessive” damages.

A Florida federal jury awarded $77.5 million to a U.S. Army veteran in the 16th and last bellwether case, meaning that the MDL plaintiffs earned almost $350 million overall throughout the bellwether trials.

Aearo Technologies, a subsidiary of 3M, has filed for bankruptcy as a result of the wave of 3M earplug lawsuits.

Are new Lawsuits being filed?

The Federal Government

The U.S. government has  only been reimbursed for the money it spent on allegedly defective earplugs. This is  because their case was brought forward as a whistleblower claim under the Federal False Claims Act.

Military Personnel

As for the impacted military service personnel, they can now file individual cases to seek compensation for losses they have incurred, such as bodily injuries, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

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PHONE: 878 425 3782