More than 300 military veterans have filed lawsuits against 3M for deliberately manufacturing defective earplugs, which resulted in hearing loss during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and also during training in the U.S. military bases.
Currently, the manufacturer faces over 1,000 lawsuits from 2,000 military veterans over the earplugs alleging that the earplug slips out of the ear, and is inefficient in its purpose, which leads to difficulties for the military personnel. Maplewood-based 3M has been facing new lawsuits daily and is also fighting lawsuits related to class of chemicals known as PFAS.
On the other hand, 3M has denied all the allegations stating that 3M and the Aearo Technologies, along with the U.S. military, designed the dual-ended, Combat Arms earplugs, according to the required parameters.
The lawsuits, brought by military veterans who are left with hearing loss or tinnitus due to defective earplug distributed by the U.S. armed forces to all service members between 2003 and 2015, are consolidated under MDL No. 2885 (In Re: 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation) in the Northern District of Florida.
