Nearly 300,000 US Service Members & Veterans Sue 3M

Nearly 300,000 US Service Members & Veterans Sue 3M

Introduction

Nearly 300,000 US service members and veterans are suing 3M alleging that the company's earplugs are faulty, which resulted in hearing loss and tinnitus for the users.

One of the service members from Newton, North Carolina, is among the 300,000 plaintiffs who are suing 3M, alleging that the company's Combat Arms earplugs are defective. The plaintiff served the U.S. army by completing two rounds of duty in the US military as a field artillery specialist in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a decorated service member for training Afghan soldiers on how to operate artillery. The plaintiff accuses that he has been diagnosed with tinnitus, a persistent ringing in his ears due to the use of earplugs during his service tenure. 

As per the lawsuit filed by the plaintiff, the defective earplugs resulted in low ringing in the ears after the combat. He even said that he feels agitated when he wakes up in the middle of the night as it is difficult to get rid of the ringing.

3M has been battling lawsuits over its earplugs since 2018. The company argues that the earplugs efficiently serve their purpose if used properly and do not cause hearing damage. Until now, 3M has won six earplug lawsuits and lost 12.

So far, the total amount of the settlements to be paid by the company accounts for $220 million, including the punitive damages. 3M has not paid the amount yet and has appealed to reconsider the decisions in the court.

Even the government argued that 3M failed to inform the users about the design defects in the earplugs that could harm them. 3M denies all the wrongdoings and said that the products comply with the safety protocols. The company faces one of the largest multi-district litigation in the history of the U.S. over the earplugs.