Update: Plaintiff Seeks Consolidation of Federal 3M Earplug Lawsuits
March 5, 2019 – After a group of plaintiffs reached a $9.1 million settlement with the 3M Company to resolve allegations that it knowingly sold defective earplugs to the U.S. military, one of those plaintiffs has filed a motion seeking consolidation of all such claims into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) for pretrial handling before one judge. In the motion, which was filed Jan. 25, Plaintiff requests the District of Minnesota as the venue for the proposed MDL because 3M is headquartered there, and thus the relevant documents and witnesses are located nearby.
Overview
January 15, 2019 – The 3M Company has agreed to pay $9.1 million to the U.S. government over claims it sold defective Combat Earplugs to thousands of military service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2015.
Free Confidential Lawsuit Evaluation: Our lawyers are currently wishing to speak with anyone who has been harmed by 3M Combat Arms Earplugs. If you’ve suffered hearing loss, tinnitus, or other ear damage, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit and we can help.
According to the lawsuit, 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.”
3M Combat Arms Earplugs, which resemble a pair of cones connected at the bottom by a stem, were designed to be worn in 2 ways: the wearer could insert the plugs in one direction if needed to hear speech or other low-level noises, and the other direction if needed for greater noise protection. However, the stem was designed too short, which didn’t allow the earplugs to go deep enough into the ear, according to the lawsuit.
The allegations were filed under whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private parties to sue on behalf of the U.S. government if they believe the defendants submitted false claims for government funds. As part of the resolution, the whistleblower received $1,911,000, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Do I Have a 3M Earplug Class Action Lawsuit?
The Class Action Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Combat Eag Plug Lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new ear injury cases in all 50 states.
Free Case Evaluation: Again, if you suffered hearing loss, tinnitus, or other ear damage after using 3M Combat Earplugs, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit and we can help.