Nearly 300,000 military veterans have filed lawsuits against corporate giant 3M due to defective Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 (CAEv2) that left service members and veterans with tinnitus and hearing loss.

Jury Verdicts To Date Against 3M:

February 2022: A federal jury awarded $110 million in damages last month to two U.S. Army veterans in lawsuits alleging that 3M® knowingly marketed defective earplugs that resulted in hearing loss.

May 2022: After a 2-week trial, the federal jury in Pensacola awarded Army veteran James Beal a total of $77.5 million in damages for his claims that 3M®’s defective earplugs caused hearing loss and tinnitus. This award brings the total amount of damages in the bellwether trials to $300 million.

May 2022: In March, bellwether plaintiff Ronald Sloan was awarded $55 million on his earplug lawsuits against 3M®, which included $15 million in compensatory and $40 million in punitive damages.

November 2021: A Texas federal jury awarded an Army soldier $13 million for severe hearing damage he alleges was caused by ineffective, faulty earplugs made and marketed by 3M®.

January 2019: More than 1,000 defective earplug lawsuits have been filed against 3M® alleging that 3M® made and marketed protective earplugs to the U.S. military that were defective and that 3M® knew they were defective.

The litigation began with a 2018 whistleblower lawsuit against 3M revealing allegations that St. Paul, Minnesota-based company 3M and its predecessor, Aearo Technologies knowingly sold defective dual-ended Combat Arms earplugs to the United States Military.

This case resulted in a $9.1 million settlement with the Department of Justice.

Today, the 3M Combat Arms earplugs litigation is one of the largest mass torts in U.S. history.

The lawsuit is against corporate giant 3M—and not against the military or the government.

The lawsuits accuse 3M of designing a defective product and failing to warn about its potential risks.

3M produced dual-ended Combat Earplugs Version 2 (CAEv2) and sold them to the U.S. military.    

These earplugs were then distributed to service members in combat and training.

According to lawsuits, the stem of the earplugs was too short for soldiers to insert the plug deep enough into the ear canal to obtain a proper fit.

This caused the plug to loosen, unbeknownst to the wearer or onlookers.

When earplugs loosened, they did not provide proper protection.

This personal injury settlement will not affect those veterans receiving disability benefits.

Disability benefits are given based on injury to the veteran and are not based on income or financial need.

Because it is not based on income, this will not stop or decrease disability benefits, regardless of whether it is a lump sum or structured payout—however, needs-based or income-based benefits could be affected.

The defective 3M combat earplugs that caused the hearing damage and tinnitus were issued to U.S. military members from 2003 to 2015 to servicemen and women in both combat zones and during training.

Wars these earplugs were issued in include:

-The Iraq War
-War in Afghanistan
-War in North-West Pakistan (part of War on Terror)
-War in Somalia
-Operation Ocean Shield in the Indian Ocean
-American-led intervention in Libya (2011- part of Libyan Crisis)
-American-led intervention in Iraq (2014 – 2017)
-American-led intervention in Syria (2014 to present)
-Yemeni Civil War (2015 to present)
-American Intervention in Libya (2015 to present)

The Consumer Justice Action team believes that victims that suffered personal tinnitus and hearing loss due to defective Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 (CAEv2) should receive justice and compensation for losses.