Two plaintiffs filed product liability lawsuits against 3M Earplugs Company and Aearo Technologies, LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on June 12, indicating that earplugs issued to them caused them to suffer from permanent hearing damage following military service.
According to the court document, the plaintiffs joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2009 and 2011, respectively. They stated that they did not have any hearing loss or tinnitus before using the earplugs, and the usage led to bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus or persistent ringing in the ears. The plaintiffs have further stated 3M was aware of design problems with earplugs, as they were too short to properly fit the ear effectively; however, the company still continued to sell the earplugs to the U.S. Military. The number of individual product liability 3M Combat Arms lawsuits is expected to increase dramatically in the coming months as more U.S. military veterans learn that hearing loss and tinnitus may be the result of defective military earplugs.
U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers is presiding over more than 640 injury lawsuits filed under MDL No. 2885 (In Re: 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation) in the Northern District of Florida against Minnesota-based 3M.
