Military veterans sue 3M, saying combat earplugs caused hearing injuries
Spc. Coca Temoananui, assigned to the 311th Signal Command, puts in ear protection prior to a helicopter flight, in 2012. DEBRAH SANDERS/U.S. ARMY PHOTO
The now-discontinued Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs (CAEv2) were standard issued equipment for soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq between 2003 and 2015.
In those 12 years, the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency had distributed millions of dollars’ worth of Combat Arms earplugs to thousands of service members – without knowing about their defects – putting these men and women at risk for permanent hearing loss or impairment.
3M agreed six months ago to pay military users $9.1 million to settle the government’s allegations that the company supplied defective earplugs, without admitting guilt.
Which brings us to this:
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn (Tribune News Service) — U.S. veterans have filed at least 11 lawsuits this month accusing 3M of knowingly selling thousands of defective earplugs to the military for use in combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan or training exercises in the United States.
3M, without admitting guilt, agreed six months ago to pay military branches $9.1 million to settle the government’s allegations that the company supplied defective earplugs, the Department of Justice said at the time.
The soldiers who filed the lawsuits say they now suffer permanent hearing loss or tinnitus as a result of 3M’s defective products.
3M declined to discuss the cases, saying it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
“I can tell you that there will be more filings,” said attorney Muhammad S. Aziz. “I think this will go into thousands and thousands of cases. There is a lot of interest in this case by veterans.”
Read the rest of the article here: Stars and Stripes
Tip of the old chapeau to AnotherPat for the link. Thanks, and keep ’em coming.
Category: Legal
So, like 45 dollars per veteran effected after the sharks get their cut. I’ve been wondering why I’ve been seeing those commercials recently.
Well shit…this may explain the hearing loss in my left ear!
And why is no one going to jail for fraud?
Back during the Viet of the Nam times we had a little foam rubber type thingamajig doohickey. If you wrapped it up with a torn apart C Rat cigarette butt, it may or would may not take some of the edge off. …Whatcha say? eh? huh?
Shitbirds and 2LTs protected their hearing by keeping their heads up their asses.
5th/77th FA, I’m wondering if we can now sue the cigarette companies for when we stuck cig filters in our ears when we were near you and your Big Dog Boom-Booms. (grin)
Sounds like a plan, Sky. We could be the FIRST to sue their asses. And we could be the FIRST to sue Pall Mall for not having filters that we could use.
Back in the 70’s, nicotine fiends in my infantry platoon used to call those unfiltered c-ration Pall Malls, “Lungbusters”.
Looks like the “lawers” are getting on the wagon also for civilian lawsuits.
I’m waiting for the dual ended, double vibrating buttplug class action suit to be filed.
https://www.einpresswire.com/article/474503887/purchasers-of-dual-ended-combat-arms-earplugs-caev2-kehoe-law-firm-p-c-investigating
https://kehoelawfirm.com/active-investigations/dual-ended-combat-arms-earplugs-caev2
According to Billy Shakespeare, “to improve the world; FIRST thing we do is kill all of the lawyers(sic).
Only two links, Skyjumper? Our SPAM filters thank you.
*grin*
OK I’m 30% because of back, hearing loss, plantar factitious, (both feet) and tinnitus, but 40% escapes me because I’m not Deaf enough.
I get that.
Don’t get me about the trauma about PTSD about 23 years and deploying.
/sarc
//Oh and Flight line, they said “Come back later when you’re “more Deaf.”
‘pears like you got a case of double posting syndrome too?
(ducks thrown items, running out the side door, laughing like hell)
ps They told me the same thing decades ago too Chip. Can’t hear for shit and ain’t went back yet.
So 3M could only be bothered to put four cents’ worth of material into a five-cent pair of earplugs? That’s the epitome of bullshit.
But the paycheck the lawers get from that. Wonder if any of them suffered hearing loss…
Highly unlikely. Lawers who do this kind of work and served in the military are rarer than hen’s teeth. Especially ones who served in a combat arm where trigger pulling was a thing.
Oh good Lord, those f’ng ear plugs with the three rings on ’em that didn’t stop crap. Never had the foam ones until later in the civilian world. Somewhat better than the rubber ones..
Same here. I spent 5+ years sitting on top of a motor-generator with those mini butt plugs back when. Went DNIA for hearing loss for a few weeks back then. Never got an out processing physical either, so no disability. I’m not even going to think about suing.
17 years of Naval aircraft will cause damage. Oddly I show little hearing loss, but have tinnitus. I’ve long learned to ignore it, and a noise source helps. Funny, the System Integration Labs I frequent, while miserable places temperature and humidity- wise (both too low for comfort) the constant noise from cooling fans on the equipment pretty much cancels it out.
hearing loss…in the military…
I’m shocked…shocked, I say, to learn that the military has loud things that cause hearing loss…
While it is BS that 3M probably made shoddy hearing protection, the frank fact is that earplugs just are not going to protect us from the long term noise exposure we had.
Until the noise cancelling headphones that started coming out around 2008, all of our earplugs were just above “useless”.
Make 3M pay a couple billion into the VA for disability payments.
Even using the ‘Vic3’ noise canceling headsets IED detonations were a bit noisy.
Doing route clearance in Ramadi for a year, the headsets got a workout, even with the earplugs inserted under them.
And what was wrong with the triple flange ear plugs that were standard issue when I was in (78-98)? They came in color coded sizes. And yes,if you had the wrong size, they didn’t work for shit.
But what do I know? I was just the commo and repair (31E) in the rear with the gear.
Even if you happened to get the right size they were useless.
Someone say something?
(Continues to munch on asbestos insulation cookies.)
Over a decade in engine rooms. Yeah, not really worried about my non-existent hearing loss, even at high frequencies.
I have to wonder how much blame 3M carries due to shoddy earplugs and how much blame the military should bear for not properly fitting the earplugs. If memory serves, the 3M plugs (I got a pair before deploying to Iraq in 2004) were supposed to be fitted by trained individuals. My fitting consisted of a Soldier simply looking at my ears and guessing the size I needed. And to be honest, I really didn’t use them. When things started going *bang* and *boom* I don’t know of anyone who stopped to put their earpro in.
So what was wrong with the old Army issue earplugs from the 1970’s and before? I wore them whenever I shot on a range; on my exit physical my hearing was perfect. I never wore them in the field or in training exercises. Plus, I regularly flew in helicopters in the Viet of the Nam and periodically spent time on fire support bases where 105 mm howitzers were shooting fire missions and H & I fires, all without wearing ear plugs. Plus I have worn the cheapo ear plugs during cowboy action matches for over 20 years, and I doubt I have any hearing loss. Although, the missus is convinced I have selective hearing loss.
I would observe that CAS loads are very mild compared to service loads.
I have had timers miss multiple rifle shots when folks load ultra-mousefart loads in long-barreled rifles.
It’s a nice feature of the sport, not having to double-up plugs and muffs.
Earplugs? I must have overslept the day they issued them. No problem, though. That’s what earwax is for.