3 Cases Selected For Army Hearing Loss Trial

Army Earplug Lawsuit News

The jury trial against 3M for selling a defective hearing protection device to the US Army will start in March of this year

Friday, January 29, 2021 - Soldiers have returned home from combat in overseas wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2003 to 2015, with hearing damage ranging from profound deafness to the inability to hold a conversation. Military commanders told soldiers that the hearing devices were the best and would protect them from the loudest noises. 3M instructed soldiers that the 3M Dual-sided Combat Army Earplug could be reversed, allowing them to hear critical voice communications. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers suffered the physical harm of becoming deaf or having tinnitus because the earplugs did not work. Hearing loss is the number one reason soldiers have had to file for disability income benefits, according to the Veterans Association (VA). For a free consultation and no obligation to file a claim, a top Army Earplug lawyer should be contacted for a case review before filing a lawsuit.

More than 200,000 soldiers have filed suit against 3M, the maker of the allegedly defective hearing protection device, seeking compensation for their injuries. Three cases have been grouped for the bellwether trial in March. They claim that the earplugs were too short and did not fit properly. The improper length of the earplugs allowed certain loud noises to enter and damage their hearing. The trial may support others who have filed suit and force 3M to attempt to settle the cases out of court. 3M claims that they did nothing wrong and designed the earplugs to the Army's exacting specifications. According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), however, 3M violated the False Claims Act when it sold the earplugs to the Army knowing that they were defective. "3M Company (3M), headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, has agreed to pay $9.1 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly sold the dual-ended Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2) to the United States military without disclosing defects that hampered the effectiveness of the hearing protection device. " 3M paid $9.1 million to the government while denying responsibility. "Settling the investigation into this discontinued product at this point allows the matter to no longer be a distraction to the business, and frees former and current 3M employees from having to go through the inconvenience of a protracted investigation and litigation. We take great pride in our products and this resolution is not an admission of liability, but simply a decision to move forward with our mission to provide high-quality personal safety equipment products to our customers."

Some soldiers have suffered a hearing loss condition known as tinnitus. Tinnitus is like punching a tear in a snare drum. Tinnitus sufferers have a maddening ringing in the ears and have to sleep with other sounds like a TV playing or a loud fan to competed with the monotone. Soldiers with tinnitus have had an impossible time readjusting to civilian life, cannot hold a job, and have difficulty performing the duties of a mother, father, and spouse. Army Earplug lawyers are interviewing soldiers that have hearing damage to see if they qualify to file a claim.

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