Class action and personal injury lawsuits are being filed against 3M company for their failure to warn military veterans of 3M combat earplug defects that can allegedly lead to hearing loss and tinnitus.
The 3M Company has already agreed to pay more than $9 million to settle allegations of supplying the U.S. military with ineffective earplugs that may have caused hearing loss and tinnitus. The 3M settlement centered on the 3M CAEv2 dual-ended combat arms earplugs.
Plaintiffs in class action product liability lawsuits allege that 3M and Aearo Technologies Inc. knew about the 3M combat earplug defects and still provided the military with an inferior product for several years, from 2003 to 2015.
The CAEv2 earplugs are reportedly too short for proper ear insertion and may be ineffective as a result. 3M elected to conceal the design defect, and may put many military veterans at risk of hearing loss and long-term ear injury.
Joe Lyon is an experienced VA claims and Product Liability Attorney investigating injury claims from plaintiffs who may have used 3M’s defective earplugs.
The Lyon Firm is proud to represent injured veterans in hearing loss VA disability claims, as well as in class action product liability lawsuits against 3M for failing to provide effective safety equipment to those serving in America’s armed forces.
Military Ear Injury & VA Disability Lawsuits
- Hearing Loss
- Tinnitus—ringing in the ears can come and go, and may be a permanent ear injury caused by extreme noise with ineffective earplugs.
3M Combat Earplug Defects & Veteran Injury
The 3M dual-ended Combat Arms™ earplugs were issued to thousands of service members in all branches of the military between 2003 and 2015. In that time frame, thousands of veterans have claimed hearing loss disability and filed class action lawsuits against 3M Company.
Employees of 3M were allegedly aware of the 3M combat earplug defects as early as 2000, and 15 years of damage is considered preventable by personal injury lawyers.
Military veterans are now seeing compensation for their injuries in product liability and personal injury lawsuits against 3M Company. Hearing loss and tinnitus represent an issue for many veterans and 20 percent of VA claims report some level of hearing loss.
3M Earplugs Lawsuit
The defective 3M earplugs did not seal on certain individuals and allowed high-decibel noise to penetrate the safety prevention product. Plaintiff attorneys involved in class action cases also say 3M failed to provide proper instructions for the earplug use.
3M marketed the Combat Arms Earplugs (CAE) earplugs as a means to “protect against high-level steady noises like those in tracked vehicles and air transport.”
But too many veterans are now suffering. In many combat situations—at the gun range, on helicopter and plane runways, and in the field of action—soldiers rely on earplugs to protect themselves. The earplug defects have caused injury and legal action is now necessary to compensate veteran and victims of 3M negligence.
