3M Military Combat Arms Earplug Lawsuit

3M Earplugs

In July 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced 3M agreed to pay $9.1 million to settle a Whistleblower False Claims Act suit accusing 3M of knowingly selling defective earplugs to the U.S. military.

The settlement, filed in South Carolina federal court, was based upon allegations that 3M and its predecessor Aearo Technologies Inc. sold its Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2) to the Defense Logistics Agency knowing they were too short to be properly inserted into a user’s ears.

The defective earplugs are dual-ended and can be used either as traditional earplugs or can be flipped into an “open” position to attenuate explosion sounds while still letting through quieter noises. The plugs gradually loosen and failed to properly reduce loud noises.

The U.S. Department of Justice

The Most Common Causes of Personal Injury Lawsuits

Personal Injury

What prompts a personal injury lawsuit?

Personal injuries leading to a lawsuit can arise from a variety of causes, including car accidents, premise liability (injury caused on someone’s property, such as a slip and fall), medical negligence (caused by doctors, hospitals, or other healthcare providers), injuries caused by animals (such as dog bites), injuries caused by serving alcohol to someone (called dram shop laws), and intentional injuries (such as assaults).

If you’ve suffered an injury after being in an accident that was not at all your fault, it’s always a good idea to consult a lawyer.

What am I entitled to in a personal injury case?

A question that experienced attorneys can answer is whether a person who suffers a physical injury caused by another is entitled to payment for those injuries, or “damages.” Damages can take many forms, but in personal injury lawsuits, damages generally represent the amount of money which will fairly compensate a person for all the loss caused by injury.

What are the most common types of damages?

Personal injury actions often result in three types of damages. The first includes “hard” damages, such as for lost wages, incurred medical expenses, and to recover the cost of any purchases necessitated by the injury (like crutches). These types of damages can be easily calculated if they are supported by paystubs, tax records, and medical bills, so it’s important to keep a good record.

The second type of damages is known as “general” damages. These can include the amount of pain, suffering, worrying, and mental anguish which result from the injury. If a person has a permanent injury and, as a result, can no longer engage in certain activities, then that person may be able to claim damages in the form of a loss of ability to pursue a normal course of life. These damages are not easily calculated and citizen jurors are instructed to use “calm and reasonable judgment” in determining these amounts.

53 Lawyers Appointed to Lead 3M Earplug Lawsuits

3M Earplugs

A Florida judge has appointed 53 lawyers to lead hundreds of lawsuits brought by U.S. military members against 3M over allegedly defective earplugs, with Pensacola attorney Bryan Aylstock getting the top post.

Aylstock, at Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, will oversee two other co-lead counsel, Shelley Hutson, of Houston’s Clark, Love & Hutson, and Chris Seeger, of Seeger Weiss in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, according to an order on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers, of the Northern District of Florida, also appointed two attorneys as co-liaison counsel, seven lawyers on an executive committee and 14 on a plaintiffs’ steering committee. She also appointed lawyers to nine subcommittees.

US Supreme Court Tosses Ruling Against Merck on Fosamax Osteoporosis Drug

Fosamax

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to Merck & Co – at least for now – by throwing out a lower court ruling that had revived hundreds of lawsuits accusing the company of failing to properly warn patients of debilitating thigh-bone fractures from taking its osteoporosis drug Fosamax.

The nine justices unanimously directed the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision allowing the lawsuits to proceed even though federal regulators had rebuffed Merck when the company sought to add a warning to Fosamax’s label about the fracture risk.

The decision added clarity to a defense used by drug makers against product liability claims in which they argue that such litigation is preempted under federal law and the U.S. Constitution when a federal agency takes certain actions, as the Food and Drug Administration did in this case.

In a decision written by Justice Stephen Breyer, the court said that judges, not juries, must decide disputes over preemption, and that a drug manufacturer must show that it “fully informed” the FDA of the need for a warning before it was rebuffed. Lower courts now must revisit the case reflecting the Supreme Court’s guidance.

Never put your feet on the dashboard of a car

Feet on Dashboard

Whenever Audra Tatum, of Walker County, Georgia used to get into the passenger seat of a car, she’d immediately prop her feet up against the dashboard.
“My husband would tell me, ‘If we have a wreck, it’s going to break your leg,'” Tatum told NewsChannel 9. “I dismissed him.”

But on a quick drive to her parents to pick up their two sons in 2015, another car T-boned Tatum and her husband.

“When the airbag exploded, it pushed my foot up into my face,” Tatum said. The force broke not only her ankle and femur, but also her nose and shoulder.

This wasn’t just a freak accident.

According to a Facebook post by the Chattanooga Fire Department, airbags deploy between 100 and 220 mph.

“If you ride with your feet on the dash and you’re involved in an accident, the airbag may send your knees through your eye sockets,” the post reads.

When she got to the hospital after the crash, the doctors told Tatum that if her feet were on the floor of the car, she “wouldn’t have had any issues whatsoever.” But she still deals with the pain from the accident years later.

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