Thursday, March 5, 2020 - The US went to war with Afghanistan and Iraq after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and combat military personnel were required to wear the 3M Dual-Sided Combat Army earplug to protect against the sounds from battlefield gunfire and explosions. Unfortunately, 3M allegedly mislead the government when it certified that the hearing protection device would protect a soldier's hearing and also allow lower decibel critical spoken battlefield commands to be heard. Nearly 140,000 soldiers that have returned from war and are receiving military disability income have consulted with army earplug lawyers and either filed or are in the process of filing lawsuits against 3M according to a Bloomberg report that cited a U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi-district Litigation. The cases have been consolidated into multi-district litigation and "Trial is expected to begin in early 2021 before Judge M. Casey Rodgers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida." The one-size-fits-all nature of the combat army earplug cause them to fail to fit soldiers being either too wide or narrow or too short for thousands of soldiers. Unfortunately, there is no statistic for how many soldiers died from being disoriented from explosions on the battlefield and then killed or maimed by the enemy. Army Earplug lawsuits are handled by top national attorneys offer a free no obligation consultation for Army Veterans nationwide.
Lawsuits against 3M claim the company failed to adequately test the army earplugs in question before guaranteeing their effectiveness, nor did the company train soldiers in the proper way to insert them. According to the Military Times, "The lawsuits allege that Minnesota-based 3M Company designed the earplugs in a defective manner and failed to warn users of the defect or to provide proper instructions for their use, according to a copy of one lawsuit provided to Military Times."
3M's "gross negligence" as lawsuits claim, in selling a faulty, defective, and malfunctioning critical combat protection device has cost US taxpayers billions of dollars in unnecessary military disability payments with no end in sight. Hearing loss from explosive or repetitive loud noise can be degenerative and increase every year for the hearing loss victim's life. Veterans returning from overseas wars now suffer from hearing impairment and tinnitus, a maddening constant ringing in one's ears that prevents a person from being able to sleep, hold a job, or have normal relationships with spouses and children. 3M must be held accountable and if you or a loved one has fought in the military and suffered hearing impairment or loss of balance, you may be entitled to lump-sum punitive damages. Court documents allege that the company knew as early as 2000 that the earplugs would not work as advertised.
3M was forced to pay a fine of $9 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a group of former employees and the US Department of Justice using the False Claims Act.
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Filing a lawsuit will allow you to hold 3M accountable for damage it has caused you or a loved one, while also providing real compensation for your medical expenses, suffering and loss. Contact us today for a free consultation.