Medical examinations and hearing tests of the plaintiffs involved in the 3M earplugs lawsuits started last week as per the protocol set by U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers, overseeing the litigation in the Northern District of Florida.
The case order drawing the protocol of the examinations was released earlier this month for the first set of military veterans who are a part of initial bellwether trials.
According to the order, the total examination time for each plaintiff was set to four hours, and the results of the test had to be produced to the plaintiffs within seven days following the examination. The parties also have the opportunity to conduct rebuttal tests.
The first series of individual bellwether trials are scheduled to begin on April 5, 2021, during which the results of the testing will be used.
The result of these trials will not hold an obligation on other cases and will be closely monitored by the parties as it would influence settlements for veterans, which would avoid the need for individual trials nationwide in the coming years.
Currently, more than 150,000 claims are filed by veterans against 3M Company and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies, each raising similar allegations that the hearing loss injuries were caused by defective 3M earplugs that were standard issue by the military between 2003 and 2015.
