We consider the company’s fraudulent actions, all committed with complete disregard for the safety and well-being for the service men and women fighting to protect our country, to be of the most egregious type of offense. Zanes Law would be honored to champion your right for compensation from 3M. ZANES LAW CAN REPRESENT YOU IN YOUR QUEST FOR COMPENSATION RECOVERABLE DAMAGES FROM A 3M COMBAT EARPLUG LAWSUITĭepending on the level of tinnitus or hearing impairment you have suffered as a result of using the 3M Combat earplugs, you may receive compensation for the following types of damages: You suffered injuries due to your use of the earplugs (e.g., hearing loss or tinnitus).You used the 3M dual-ended Combat Arms version 2 earplugs in your service AND.You can join other veterans in receiving compensation from 3M if you served in the military between 20, and you meet the following criteria: YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION District Court in Northern Florida for Multidistrict Litigation (MDL). Because of the similarity of the questions of fact in these cases, those pending have been centralized and transferred to a U.S. Thousands of veterans have filed individual lawsuits against the manufacturer.
Now it is veterans’ turn to collect compensation from 3M for the hearing loss, tinnitus, and other damages suffered as the result of the company’s defective hearing protection devices. The whistleblower will receive $1,911,000 for exposing the fraud. 3M agreed to a settlement of $9.1 million to be paid to the government. government filed a lawsuit against 3M, facilitated by a whistleblower action provided for under the False Claims Act, from a 3M competitor. The noise of combat proved to be particularly damaging to soldiers who thought their ears were protected. Testing of this capability did not follow the required standards and generated more favorable results than what the earplug was actually delivering. This amplification made it difficult for soldiers to hear commands and protect themselves. The yellow end was not effective in dampening noises and, in fact, actually amplified the sounds. The fitting problem reduced the effectiveness of both sides. In testing, the flange was rolled back to circumvent the blocking problem, but this workaround was not communicated to soldiers as a requirement for the earplug to work effectively. The earplug would unwedge itself, unbeknownst to the wearer. A large flange on the unused end would not allow the in-use side to penetrate a significant distance into the ear. BOTH ENDS FAILED IN THEIR INTENDED DESIGNĪlthough the conceptual design for the dual-ended earplug would have served the troops well, each end failed in its intended purpose.įor starters, the earplug stem was too short, and so soldiers were unable to correctly insert either end into their ear canals. With this design, the soldier would protect their hearing while still being able to receive critical spoken communications to do their job and stay safe. A soldier would insert the yellow end of the earplug in situations where they encounter intermittent, unexpected loud sounds, like explosions. The yellow end of the earplug was intended to serve as the open-position device, dampening the level of loud noises, while still enabling the soldier to hear important spoken commands, approaching vehicles, or enemies. A soldier would insert the green end of the earplug in situations where they face high, constant noise levels, for example when working around aircraft, machinery, watercraft, and armored vehicles. The dark green end of the earplug serves as a closed-position earplug, preventing the flow of all sound through the ear canal. The 3M combat earplugs’ dual ended design theoretically presents two different hearing protection devices. 3M marketed this feature as “selective attenuation.” TWO OPTIONS FOR NOISE REDUCTION The purpose of the two sides is to, in theory, provide hearing protection at two levels, giving soldiers more options and flexibility for adjusting noise reduction based on the levels and concentration of sound to which they are being exposed.