The War on 3M: Veterans’ Legal Battle for Justice

Tinnitus, hearing loss, and vertigo are just three of the symptoms reported by military veterans after using a pair of defective military earplugs during service. A class action lawsuit was filed against the company 3M, makers of the defective earplug.

The earplug in question was model CAEv2, which was discovered to have been too short to fit properly into the ear canal, easily coming loose during combat and therefore allowing sound into the soldiers’ eardrums, failing to protect their hearing in the midst of harsh noises such as gunfire, bomb explosions, and aircraft flight. Chronic debilitating hearing issues have been the result for hundreds of service members.

The Department of Justice has reported that 3M and its predecessor, Aero Technologies, Inc., knew the earplugs were defective but sold them to Defense Logistics Agency without making the defects known. The allegations were first brought to light under the False Claims Act act by a whistleblower will receive $1,911,000 while 3M will pay $9.1 million to resolve the allegations.

The Department of Justice reports that Robert E. Craig, Special Agent in Charge of The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the unit working on the case, states “this settlement demonstrates the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners to hold companies accountable for supplying substandard products, in particular products that could directly impact our service members’ health and welfare. DCIS protects the integrity of Defense Department programs by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse that negatively affect the wellbeing of our troops.”