$22.5 Million Verdict in 3M Combat Earplug Trial

3M Earplugs

A jury in Pensacola, Florida has awarded U.S. Army Veteran Theodore Finley $22.5 million in a lawsuit seeking damages for hearing loss and tinnitus caused by combat earplugs sold by 3M Co. This latest verdict surpasses seven previous verdicts, including a $13 million verdict awarded by jurors to a U.S. Army sergeant last month.

“It is always upsetting to see large, multi-billion corporations putting their profits above the safety and health of their consumers,” said Texas Attorney Thomas J. Henry. “In this case, however, we saw 3M Co. take advantage of our U.S. servicemen and women. That is simply unacceptable, and the jury’s verdict shows that the people our military members serve will not stand for it.”

Pensacola jury awards $7.1 million in bellwether case over defective 3M military earplugs

3M Earplugs

More than 230,000 military members and veterans could receive millions in damages against 3M Co. after a Pensacola jury found the multinational corporation liable for hearing loss from defective earplugs the company sold the military for 12 years.

A jury on Friday awarded more than $7.1 million in damages to three former service members from Kentucky and Georgia in the first “bellwether trial” of a massive and complex lawsuit against the company.

If the verdict stands — and if similar verdicts are reached in more bellwether trials — 3M could pay out millions to service members who used the Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2).

3M and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies sold the earplugs to the Department of Defense from 2003 to 2015, and they

Contractor Settles for $9.1M after Providing Defective Earplugs for Troops

3M Earplugs

A contractor has agreed to pay $9.1 million to the U.S. government for selling defective earplugs issued to thousands of servicemembers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2015.

Known as “selective attenuation earplugs,” 3M’s Combat Arms earplugs would “loosen in the wearers ear, imperceptibly to the wearer and even trained audiologists visually observing a wearer, thereby permitting damaging sounds to enter the ear canal by traveling around outside of the earplug,” according to the whistleblower lawsuit complaint, which was settled Thursday.

The earplugs were designed to be worn in two ways. The wearer could insert the plugs one way if they needed to hear speech and another way if they needed greater noise protection. The plugs looked like two inverted cones connected at

3M will pay $9M over defective military earplugs

3M Earplugs

3M Co. has agreed to pay $9.1 million to settle a claim it sold defective earplugs to the U.S. military. 

Military Times reports on the settlement, announced late last week by the U.S. Department of Justice. Maplewood-based 3M (NYSE: MMM) admitted no wrongdoing in the deal.

The government had accused 3M and Aearo Technologies Inc. of knowingly providing the military with earplugs that were too short, causing them to gradually loosen in the some users’ ears until they didn’t provide protection. 3M bought Aearo in 2007.

The Star Tribune also has a report, noting that lawsuit dates to a 2016 filing by a whistleblower recently identified as Moldex-Metric Inc., an earplug maker that has sparred in court with 3M previously. Moldex will get a portion of the settlement.

In a statement, 3M

Company to pay $9 million after allegedly selling defective combat earplugs to US military

3M Earplugs

A contracting company agreed to pay $9.1 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly sold the U.S. military defective earplugs.

The Minnesota-based 3M Company allegedly sold its dual-ended Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2, to the Defense Logistics Agency without disclosing defects that decreased the actual effectiveness of the hearing protection the device offered.

“Government contractors who seek to profit at the expense of our military will face appropriate consequences,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division in a Thursday press release.

The allegations were brought against 3M through the enforcement of the False Claims Act, according to the release. Although the case has been resolved, all claims within the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination

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