3M Facing High Costs in Military Earplug Litigation:
We respect our military and our service members and veterans. As a thank you for their service, our government offers long-term care and benefits through the VA. We also like to think that we provide the best training in the world before sending our forces off to war. But what happens when the “top of the line” safety equipment the government provides has actually made training dangerous. The massive tort lawsuits pending against 3M’s earplugs raise questions about how we protect our troops while they serve.
3M’s Defective Earplugs
Company 3M faces the largest consolidated federal mass tort case in U.S. history, and the numbers keep growing. From 2007 to 2013, 3M manufactured earplugs and provided them to the U.S. Army by 3M and provided to service members by the U.S. Army. The government gave them to U.S. service members, but the Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2, had design flaws that 3M tried to cover up with false test results. They also failed to provide complete instructions to the troops using them.
U.S. Government Settlement with 3M
An anonymous whistleblower outed 3M, using the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act to initiate a lawsuit against 3M, alleging that 3M knew its earplugs were defective when it sold them to the Army. The U.S. government eventually settled with 3M for $9.1 million. While the government settlement with 3M was a good first step, it did nothing to help the hundreds of thousands of veterans and active-duty service members harmed by the defective earplugs. More than 250,000 lawsuits alleging hearing damage and hearing loss caused by the 3M earplugs followed.
3M’s 50/50 Shot at Losing Billions
After 13 suits have gone to trial, 3M has only won five. In the other eight, courts awarded damages ranging from $1.7 to $110 million to the plaintiffs. But there are still more than 250,000 lawsuits pending against it, and the cases are still growing in the largest consolidated federal mass tort case in U.S. history. It seems that 3M will lose about 50% of the pending lawsuits against it. Without a group settlement, stock analysts predict that 3M will pay out about $15 billion in the remaining lawsuits.
You Need Experienced Legal Guidance
If you have earing loss after military service using the 3M earplugs supplied by the Army, the skilled attorneys at the Madeksho Law Firm can help. Give us a call at 1-888-910-6376 or fill out our online form. Your first consultation is always free, and you don’t pay any fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
