{"id":2016415,"date":"2023-08-30T06:32:04","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T10:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3m-agrees-to-6-billion-settlement-over-us-military-earplugs-that-allegedly-caused-hearing-loss\/"},"modified":"2023-08-30T06:35:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T10:35:19","slug":"3m-agrees-to-6-billion-settlement-over-us-military-earplugs-that-allegedly-caused-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3m-agrees-to-6-billion-settlement-over-us-military-earplugs-that-allegedly-caused-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"3M to pay $6B settlement for alleged hearing loss caused by military earplugs."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2F3m-agrees-to-6-billion-settlement-over-us-military-earplugs-that-allegedly-caused-hearing-loss%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2016415&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>3M Agrees to $6 Billion \u2064Settlement in Earplug Lawsuit<\/h2>\n<p>3M, the\u200c Minnesota-based company, has reached a landmark settlement\u2063 of\u200c $6 billion with individuals who claimed to have suffered hearing loss from earplugs produced by its subsidiary\u200c Aearo Technologies. The settlement, which will be paid out over six years starting\u200b in 2023, includes $5 billion in cash and $1 billion in 3M common\u2064 stock.<\/p>\n<p>Despite agreeing\u2063 to the settlement, 3M maintains that\u200c it is \u2062not admitting any liability. The company asserts that all the earplugs in question are safe and effective\u2064 when used \u200dproperly.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/3ms-bid-to-shield-itself-from-earplug-lawsuits-faces-skeptical-judges-5172204\">3M&#8217;s Bid to Shield Itself From \u2064Earplug Lawsuits Faces Skeptical Judges<\/a><br \/>\n        <br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">4\/5\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/3m-ordered-to-pay-77-5-million-to-veteran-in-latest-earplug-trial-4480043\">3M Ordered to Pay $77.5\u200b Million\u200b to Veteran in Latest Earplug Trial<\/a><br \/>\n        <br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">5\/21\/2022<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>3M emphasizes that it is prepared to defend itself in the litigation\u2062 if certain agreed terms of the \u2064settlement are not fulfilled.<\/p>\n<p>The combat earplugs at the center of\u200c the settlement were manufactured by Aearo Technologies, a company \u2062acquired by 3M in 2008. These earplugs \u2062were used by the \u200cU.S. military from 2003 to 2015, including in\u200d Afghanistan and Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>Over 230,000 military \u200cveterans and service members alleged that the earplugs were defective and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3m-combat-earplug-lawsuits-to-proceed-judge-rules-despite-bankruptcy-case\/\" title=\"3M combat earplug lawsuits to proceed, judge rules, despite bankruptcy case\">caused hearing loss<\/a> and tinnitus. They claimed that 3M concealed design flaws, manipulated test results, and \u2064failed to provide proper instructions for use, resulting in hearing damage during military activities.<\/p>\n<h2>Failed Bankruptcy Attempt<\/h2>\n<p>The lawsuits against 3M and Aearo represent the largest-ever\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pressure-mounts-on-red-state-attorneys-general-to-cut-ties-with-left-wing-law-firm\/\" title=\"Pressure Mounts on Red State Attorneys General To Cut Ties With Left-Wing Law Firm\">multi-district litigation<\/a> in U.S. history, with nearly 330,000 cases filed\u2064 and approximately 260,000 pending cases. These\u200c cases\u200b were consolidated before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers in Pensacola, Florida, federal\u2062 court \u200din 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts estimate that 3M&#8217;s potential liability from the earplug litigation could reach $10 billion. Earlier this year, 3M&#8217;s\u2063 attempt to place Aearo Technologies into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in an effort to \u200cprotect itself from the lawsuits, was\u200c rejected by a federal judge.<\/p>\n<p>According \u200bto 3M, this settlement agreement is intended to resolve all claims associated \u200cwith the Combat Arms Earplug products. It includes claims in the multi-district litigation in Florida and the coordinated state court action\u2062 in\u200d Minnesota, as \u200bwell as potential future claims.<\/p>\n<p>The settlement will result in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-kc-46-tankers-operating-on-natos-eastern-front\/\" title=\"U.S. KC-46 Tankers Operating on NATO\u2019s Eastern Front\">pre-tax charge<\/a> of approximately $4.2 billion \u2062for\u200c 3M in the third \u200cquarter\u200b of 2023.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Just and Deserved&#8217; Compensation to\u200c Veterans<\/h2>\n<p>Bryan Aylstock, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3m-agrees-to-6-billion-settlement-over-us-military-earplugs-that-allegedly-caused-hearing-loss\/\" title=\"3M to pay B settlement for alleged hearing loss caused by military earplugs.\">court-appointed\u200c lead \u200bplaintiffs&#8217; counsel<\/a>, \u2063expressed confidence that the $6 billion settlement will receive overwhelming support. He believes that the settlement not only holds \u20623M\u2062 accountable but also provides just and\u200b deserved compensation\u200b to veterans.<\/p>\n<p>This settlement comes shortly\u200b after 3M agreed to pay over $6.5\u2064 million to resolve charges related to\u200c its Chinese\u2062 subsidiary funding trips for Chinese officials. These trips were \u2064intended to boost \u200dcompany sales and included various entertainment activities.<\/p>\n<p>3M continues to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-state-legislature-passes-fetal-heartbeat-abortion-bill\/\" title=\"Texas state legislature passes fetal heartbeat abortion bill\">face legal challenges<\/a> but remains committed to resolving\u200c these issues and providing compensation to \u200dthose affected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>billion in future medical expenses\u2014to resolve the claims. The settlement aims to compensate those affected by the faulty earplugs, which were sold to the military between 2003 and 2015. 3M&#8217;s subsidiary, Aearo Technologies, faced allegations that the earplugs caused hearing loss among veterans and service members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":2016416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2016415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2016415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2016416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2016415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2016415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2016415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}