3M Combat Arms Earplug Settlement Identification Phase Complete, and Submission of Eligible Claimant Registration Forms Will Soon Begin

As the latest 3M earplug settlement update is issued by the Court, there remain questions over whether enough veterans will sign onto the deal to finalize the pact, which would average about $24,000 per claim.

A federal judge has determined that process for identifying all potential claimants who may participate in a recent $6 billion 3M Combat Arms earplug lawsuit settlement agreement has been completed, and the next phase will soon begin, allowing plaintiffs to submit registration forms to obtain compensation for hearing loss and tinnitus injuries.

The settlement seeks to resolve nearly 300,000 product liability lawsuits brought against 3M Company by U.S. military veterans, who say they suffered permanent hearing damage due to alleged design defects with the company’s Combat Arms earplugs, which were standard military issue for all service members between 2003 and 2015.

The veterans claim 3M Company, and it’s Aero Technologies subsidiary, knew the earplugs failed to properly seal the ear canal, yet continued to sell their product to the U.S. government, causing service members to be left without adequate ear protection during combat and training exercises.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in the litigation, all claims brought throughout the federal court system have been centralized for the past three and a half years before U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida, as part of an MDL or multidistrict litigation.

Following a series of massive damage awards returned by juries in early cases that went to trial in the MDL, the manufacturer decided to pursue a controversial 3M earplug lawsuit bankruptcy plan last year, attempting to put its fully owned subsidiary Aearo Technologies into bankruptcy, even though 3M is a multi-billion dollar parent company that is well funded and directly profited from sale of the earplugs for years.

However, federal courts repeatedly shot down the earplug manufacturer’s attempts, saying the filings were not made in good faith, and that the company faced no financial distress from the lawsuits that would warrant bankruptcy protection.

3M Combat Arms Earplug Settlement

With thousands of potential trials likely to be scheduled over the next year, which could result in massive liability awards, 3M Company offered a $6 billion Combat Arms earplug lawsuit settlement (PDF) on August 28, which seeks to resolve the litigation and prevent the federal court system from being flooded with hundreds of thousands of trials in the coming years. However, there remain some questions about whether enough individual plaintiffs will agree to accept the settlement, which would be paid over the course of five years.

In the days after the settlement was announced, Judge Rodgers issued a case management order (PDF) detailing how the Court intended to protect plaintiffs from predatory settlement lending companies, which often advance money at extremely high interest rates once a settlement is announced. In addition, the Court also issued an order (PDF) describing how those who do not wish to participate in the settlement can proceed with individual lawsuits.

On September 23, the latest 3M earplug settlement update was issued by the Court, announcing in a case management order (PDF) that the identification phase of the program is now complete. Judge Rodgers indicated that the “process for Eligible Claimants to submit Registration Forms, including required signatures and attachments, will soon begin.”

Earplug Settlement Amount Concerns

While the parties move forward with the settlement claim process, there remain questions over whether enough veterans will approve of the deal to sign on.

Plaintiffs have six months from August 29 to accept or opt-out of the agreement, however some have questioned whether the settlement amount, which comes to about $24,000 per plaintiff paid out across five years, is adequate to address permanent hearing loss and tinnitus injuries. If less than 98% of plaintiffs agree to the settlement, the deal may fall apart.