Two Army Veterans Awarded $110 Million in 3M Earplug Lawsuit

“While they are certainly pleased with the verdict and happy that the jury saw through the defenses that 3M tried to put forth, they have to go back to their lives living with these permanent conditions that simply will never go away and will only get worse,” Mr. Aylstock said.

Mr. Sloan and Mr. Wayman both used the earplugs during training and their deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to their lawyers. Mr. Sloan served in the Army from 1994 to 2015, and Mr. Wayman served from 1997 to 2017.

Mr. Aylstock said 3M needlessly put soldiers in harm’s way.

“It’s not as though this was a paper clip or a Post-it note, where if it doesn’t work, it’s not a huge deal,” Mr. Aylstock said. “They knew this was going to cause permanent damage to our soldiers.”

3M said in an emailed statement that it would appeal the jury’s decision and noted that the company had won the previous two cases in the earplugs litigation.

“While we are disappointed with the verdicts, the overall mixed record in the bellwether process thus far shows that plaintiffs face significant challenges in this litigation and each case must be considered on its own facts and circumstances,” the statement said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/us/veterans-earplugs-3m-lawsuit.html