May 5, 2021
By Carah Wertheimer
A federal jury has awarded $7.1 million to three army veterans who alleged that defective 3M military earplugs caused their permanent hearing damage.
Friday’s verdict bodes poorly for 3M, which now faces up to 240,000 similar claims from service members, veterans and some civilians in what’s now the largest mass tort in U.S. history. The lawsuits claim 3M’s earplugs have caused constant ringing in the ears known as tinnitus as well as partial and total hearing loss.
Jurors in the first bellwether trial awarded $2.1 million in punitive damages to each veteran and a total of $830,500 in varying compensatory damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages.