What You Should Know About The 3M Earplug Class Action Lawsuit

3M earplugs are combat arm double-sided earbuds created by the 3M Company based in Minnesota that were to be used by the U.S armed forces. Their main function was to offer hearing protection and give the armed forces members a greater awareness of everything happening around them in the extreme noise combat environments they were in.

The 3M earplugs specifically referred to as Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 were issued to the active members of the U.S armed forces between the year 2003 and 2015.
These earplugs were meant to offer two levels of ear protection. One part was meant to block out extreme levels of noise while the other part was meant to function as a regular earplug.

Design Defects Detected

Attention was brought to the United States Department of Justice regarding the potential risk that these earplugs posed to the active armed forces members. This prompted them to launch an investigation on the earplugs and the 3M Company. The investigations led them to the discovery that the earplugs were faulty.

The 3M earplugs were found to be too short to properly fit in the ear canal and would get loose while the soldiers were in combat.in extreme noise battlegrounds. The plugs were not effective enough in dampening very loud sounds such as explosions and gunfire.

False Claims

3M Company claimed that the earplugs’ Noise Reduction Rating was 22 which is ideal to protect the armed forces members from the destructive noise levels. They also claimed that the armed forces members would clearly hear commands made by their fellow soldiers as well as the movements made by their enemies with the earplugs on.

The findings from the investigations, however, were that the earplugs had a rating of 10.9 which failed to meet the set threshold for hearing protection.

Effects Of The Defects

The defects in the 3M earplugs resulted in thousands of the armed force members suffering from hearing loss, ear injuries, and tinnitus which made it difficult for them to effectively serve in the U.S military and made it even harder for them to secure jobs elsewhere. It also affected their overall well-being in life.

Lawsuit Filed

The U.S Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against 3M Company for violating the False Claims Act through selling defective earplugs to the U.S military and not revealing the present design defects despite the fact that the company was aware of them.

On the 26th of July 2018, the U.S Department of Justice disclosed that the 3M Company had agreed to pay a $9.1 million fine for the damages caused.

What’s In It For You?

If you were a member of the U.S armed forces serving between the year 2002 and 2016 and you were issued with the 3M Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 and you now suffer from a hearing problem resulting from the defective earplugs, know that you are liable to receive compensation from the fine paid by the 3M Company to the U.S government.

Understanding in-depth the full details of the 3M Earplug Class Action Lawsuit is the first and most important step in the journey of claiming your rightful compensation.