When protective gear designed for intense situations such as military combat malfunctions, there can be serious consequences. If some sort of protective armor malfunctions and breaks, the consequences are visible and immediate. However, when the failure of protective gear such as earplugs occurs, people may not realize it until years after their service, when they start to experience hearing loss. The 3M earplug lawsuit has compiled the claims of veterans who say defective 3M combat earplugs caused their hearing loss and other related conditions during their military service.
What is the 3M earplug lawsuit?
In July of 2018, the Department of Justice declared that the Minnesota-based 3M Corporation had agreed to pay $9.1 million to settle a lawsuit that accused 3M of knowingly selling the United States military defective combat earplugs.
This settlement was filed in South Carolina federal court and alleged that both 3M and its predecessor, Aearo Technologies, sold their Combat Arms Earplugs to the military’s Defense Logistics Agency with the knowledge that they were too short to be inserted properly into the ears of a user.
These earplugs are dual-ended, and they can be used as a traditional earplug as well as being flipped into an open position to block out the sounds of explosions while still letting in quieter noises. These earplugs actually would gradually loosen after insertion in the ears and therefore would fail to reduce the effects of loud noises around the user safely.
Not only did 3M sell these defective earplugs knowingly to the military, but they launched patent infringement litigation in 2012 against another company attempting to provide a better ant non-defective form of combat earplugs. The 3M earplugs were the only attenuating earplug option available to military personnel between the years of 2003 and 2012.
Military service and hearing injuries
Around 60% of all people who served in the military report hearing loss after the completion of their service. In 2014, almost a million veterans were receiving disability compensation for hearing loss and 1.3 million veterans were receiving compensation for tinnitus, which is a condition where people hear ringing in their ears.
The causes of hearing loss and tinnitus can be an acute exposure to an intense sound (for example, an explosion), or by a long-term and continuous exposure to less intense but still harmful sounds (for example, repeated gunfire or spending time in aircraft carrier decks or engine rooms).
The Department of Veterans Affairs (commonly called the VA) states that hearing loss and tinnitus are by far the most prevalent disabilities connected to military service regarding American veterans.
What is a class action lawsuit?
A class action is a legal procedural device which permits one or more plaintiffs to centrally file and prosecute a suit on behalf of a larger group of plaintiffs. This device allows courts to handle lawsuits that, were it not for class actions, would be unmanageable due to the number of plaintiffs.
The 3M lawsuit does meet this criterion for a class action suit. If you or a family member developed total or partial hearing loss, or suffer from tinnitus, as a result of your military service between 2003 and 2015, you may be eligible to join the class action lawsuit against 3M which accuses the corporation of producing and distributing faulty earplugs to the military through the Defense Logistics Agency. This suit can help former military personnel recover costs associated with medical bills, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and more.
Final thoughts
Finding a reliable lawyer who is already familiar with the lawsuit is a smart option because they can expertly guide you through the ins and outs of filing a claim. With their help, hopefully, you or your loved one can get the rightful compensation and justice.
