3M has been awarded a win in the Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 (CAEv2) litigation's 14th bellwether test trial by a Pensacola jury.
Of the 14 bellwether trials, 3M has won six of them, whereas the plaintiffs have been favored in 8 of the trials, with verdicts totalling about $200 million. The U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber in Pensacola handed over the verdict in the current trial.
3M is pleased with the verdict as another jury has sided with them in the latest trial, whereas the plaintiff’s attorneys said that they are looking forward to trying further cases as 3M's defenses were unconvincing and without merit.
As per the court documents, the plaintiff in the current case served in the U.S. Army from 2004, which included tours in Iraq and Kuwait. The allegations brought by the plaintiff were similar to the other plaintiffs in the MDL, where the company is accused of withholding the design defect of the earplugs, which resulted in hearing loss for the service members.
As per the company, Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 (CAEv2) is designed in such a way that it provides selective hearing from one end whereas eliminates all the sounds when used reversibly. But the plaintiffs allege that the products failed to serve their purpose resulting in hearing loss and tinnitus for the users.
According to data from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, there are now almost 300,000 plaintiffs with pending cases against 3M, making it the largest MDL in history. The 15th bellwether trial is set to begin next week on April 18th, and the 16th bellwether trial will begin on May 9th.
