What Compensation Can I Get If I Sue For Defective 3M Earplugs?

Please note: We appreciate your interest in claims for 3M Earplugs. We are no longer taking 3M case submissions at this time. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about any other legal issues, recalls, faulty products, dangerous drugs, or defective medical equipment.

Countless service members received 3M’s Combat Arms earplugs, which are the subject of hundreds of thousands of lawsuits alleging defects that cause hearing loss and tinnitus. The compensation you can recover may be on your mind if you believe that your injuries may have been caused by defective earplugs.

While there are never any guarantees, and every case is unique, there is a way to seek compensatory damages for your hearing loss.

If you’ve suffered hearing loss or tinnitus due to a faulty pair of 3M earplugs, you may be able to recover financial and other damages in a lawsuit against the 3M company.

The types and amount of damages you can recover will depend upon your particular condition and how it has affected you. Learn more about the compensation you can get if you choose to take legal action against 3M for defective earplugs.

RECOVERABLE DAMAGES IN A HEARING LOSS CLAIM AGAINST 3M FOR FAULTY EARPLUGS

Due to the sheer volume of these lawsuits, it’s difficult to know what kind of settlements will be reached and how much individuals should expect to receive. To date, the 3M earplug litigation is the biggest mass tort in U.S. history.

The trial value could be anywhere from 50,000 to over a quarter of a million. Bellwether trials have shown favorable results, with the jury awarding significant punitive damages in one case. If the initial results of the first combat earplug trials are any indication, that number could rise. The global settlement value, which refers to the resolution of nearly all claims at once, would likely be lower due to the sheer number of claimants since mass tort settlements rarely reach trial value.

In the event of a “global” settlement, compensation for ear injuries will be divided into tiers based on how significant the hearing injury was and how credible the case itself is.

Recoverable compensation can include:

• Hearing aids and other assistive devices
• Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
• Emotional trauma
• Pain and suffering
• Diminished quality of life

The vast majority of these lawsuits have been brought by people who served their country. They have now suffered partial hearing loss, tinnitus, and other hearing-related injuries because their ear protection was terribly flawed. An earplug lawyer with our firm can help you seek compensation for your losses.

IS THE 3M COMBAT EARPLUG LAWSUIT A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT?

No. The 3M earplug lawsuit is a collection of individual lawsuits, not a class action lawsuit. The plaintiffs in the case all sustained hearing loss and/or tinnitus as a result of their use of 3M dual-ended combat arms earplugs.

Since the extent of the injuries varies among the plaintiffs, it cannot be classified as a single type of harm caused by one product to many. For this reason, they have been unable to merge into one class action lawsuit.

In order to efficiently hear all these individual cases, the litigation has been consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings overseen by one federal court judge. This process will facilitate pre-trial agreements between lawyers representing plaintiffs and the 3M defense.

This provides for more efficiency in managing the claims collectively, and it allows each plaintiff to make his or her own case for damages based on the severity of their hearing damage and the impact it has had on their lives.

MILITARY VETERANS FROM 2003-2015 WHO SUFFERED HEARING DAMAGE MAY BE ABLE TO SUE 3M

Veterans are suing 3M for the hearing damage they sustained as a result of wearing the government-issued earplugs during their active military service. If you are a veteran and suffer from hearing loss or tinnitus after using these hearing protection devices, you can join thousands of other veterans in their pursuit of damages from 3M.

Because, as a veteran, the questions of fact for your case are strongly similar to other veterans filing suit against 3M, you will be joining a legal action whose current cases have been centralized and transferred to multidistrict litigation (MDL) court. Your case stands on its own merits, but the process will move more efficiently and consistently with the MDL addressing all the pretrial issues of evidence all at once.

Most likely, the MDL will either dismiss or oversee a settlement for your case, and your damages will be determined in this course of action.

As a veteran filing a lawsuit against 3M for hearing damage sustained from the design flaws in the CAEv2 earplugs, you will need to show that you served between 2003 and 2015, used these military earplugs, and have a medical diagnosis of hearing impairment or tinnitus to benefit from the MDL.

ANYONE WHO SUFFERED HEARING DAMAGE FROM 3M’S DEFECTIVE EARPLUGS CAN SUE

If you are a civilian who used 3M’s CAEv2 and now suffer from tinnitus or permanent hearing loss, you also may be eligible to receive compensation from the manufacturer. You will need to show that you used the CAEv2 and provide documentation of your medical diagnosis for hearing impairment or tinnitus.

Because you will be suing a corporation, keep in mind that the “middlemen” involved in the chain of distribution may also be named in your lawsuit, from the manufacturer to any distributors, resellers, or suppliers.

DEFECTIVE PRODUCT LAWSUITS

Defective product lawsuits are considered personal injury actions, but they also have some rules specific to this type of case. Each state has its own set of legal rules for defective product cases, but the rules are essentially the same in spirit.

Consumers can seek compensation for three types of product defects:

• Design defects(problems inherent in the product before it has even been manufactured)
• Manufacturing defects(flaws that occur as a function of the product being made)
• Marketing defects(information, labeling, instructions, warning labels, etc.)

Plaintiffs in a 3M defective earplug lawsuit can claim both design and marketing defects.

SENDING A MESSAGE TO 3M

Although a settlement or verdict award will help you recover the costs of treating the hearing damage and/or tinnitus from which you now suffer because of the CAEv2, nothing can truly restore your life as you once knew it.

It falls upon us to send a message to Corporate America: that companies cannot sacrifice the expense of the health and well-being of the American people for profit —especially those who sacrificed to serve their country. By joining the thousands of other afflicted veterans and civilians in their lawsuits against 3M, you can reinforce the message that defrauding the American people does not pay.

HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO FIGHT FOR YOUR COMPENSATION

If you served in the United States armed forces and have experienced hearing damage that can be linked to the use of the Aearo technologies – 3M earplugs, then you may be entitled to receive compensation through a 3M earplug claim.

There is no doubt that you deserve to receive financial compensation for your hearing damage from defective combat earplugs. Going up against a huge conglomerate like 3M can be daunting. A 3M defective earplugs lawsuit lawyer can help you stand up to this deep-pocketed defendant with conviction.

Zanes Law believes our military personnel deserves better. Our legal team will fight to ensure you receive compensation for the price you have paid at the hands of this company’s sloppy design and fraudulent practices. Contact Zanes Law for a free legal consultation.