3M Loses First Trial Over Military Earplugs -- 2nd Update
01 May 2021 - 5:43AM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Randazzo
3M Co. lost the first lawsuit to go to trial over the safety of
earplugs it sold for years to the military, with a Florida federal
jury Friday awarding $7.1 million to three veterans and finding the
company failed to warn about defects in the product.
More than 230,000 service members, veterans and others have
filed claims blaming 3M earplugs for causing hearing loss. The
distinct yellow-and-green plugs, used widely by the U.S. Army and
other branches, were designed with one side intended to fully block
noise and the other to let in nearby voices while shielding the ear
from harmful ballistic noises.
Minnesota-based 3M has stood by the safety of the earplugs,
which it stopped selling in 2015. A company spokeswoman said Friday
they disagree with the verdict and don't believe plaintiffs met the
burden of proving the "product was defectively or negligently
designed" or caused the veterans' purported injuries. The company,
she said, will evaluate "multiple grounds for appeal."
Attorneys for the veterans said: "The evidence is clear: 3M knew
their earplugs were defective, yet they allowed our service members
to suffer these life-altering injuries."
The jury verdict follows a five-week trial in U.S. District
Court in Pensacola, Fla. The proceeding, along with trials
scheduled to take place in May and June, are intended to help shape
the outcome of the tens of thousands of other suits that have been
consolidated in the Florida court through a process known as
multidistrict litigation. Jury verdicts can help set benchmarks for
settlement negotiations or provide support for a company's strategy
to keep defending itself against the claims.
The jury awarded each of the three men on trial $2.1 million in
punitive damages, plus recoveries for medical expenses, lost
earnings and pain and suffering.
The number of earplug plaintiffs far surpasses those suing over
alleged harms from any other product or drug, including weedkiller,
baby powder and blood thinners.
In the tens of thousands of cases, plaintiffs allege 3M knew for
years that the second version of its Combat Arms Earplugs had a
tendency to loosen imperceptibly and let in more sound than
specified. They allege 3M didn't give the military proper
instructions on how to get the earplugs to tightly seal.
The company has said the earplugs' design reflected features the
military requested and that the U.S. government not only had input
in the product's creation but also bore responsibility for training
soldiers on how to properly use them.
Plaintiffs' lawyers began focusing on finding earplug users
after a 2018 settlement 3M reached with the U.S. Justice
Department, in which the company agreed to pay $9.1 million,
without admitting to any liability, to resolve allegations that it
failed to disclose deficiencies in the product.
Write to Sara Randazzo at sara.randazzo@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 30, 2021 15:28 ET (19:28 GMT)
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