A pair of military veterans have asked a Florida federal court to shut down 3M's plans to spin off its health care assets, arguing that would give billions of dollars to shareholders while leaving tort claimants suing 3M over allegedly faulty earplugs hanging out to dry.
3M mired in one of largest mass torts ever over military earplugs startribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from startribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A federal judge in Florida has ordered thousands of veterans’ lawsuits against an earplug manufacturer to be scheduled for trials to alleviate a backlog of more than 250,000 cases.
The men and women who wore the earplugs were not directly represented in the case.
But in the past year, lawyers from across the country following the findings in the Columbia settlement have organized one of the largest mass tort lawsuits in recent history, with more than 220,000 men and women in uniform alleging hearing damage from 3M s product.Â
At least 2,000 former and current service members connected to South Carolina have joined the lawsuit.Â
Several of these earplug suits are scheduled to go to trial in April in a Pensacola, Fla., federal court. Bryan Aylstock, a Florida-based attorney with Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, is the lead lawyer on the national case. He said the success of the individual trials will be a sign if they can combine all the lawsuits together, which would be a major development in 2021.Â