OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The law firms of Gibbs Law Group, Stueve Siegel Hanson and Isaac Wiles have filed a lawsuit on behalf of military service members who suffered permanent hearing loss, tinnitus and other hearing injuries due to a serious defect in 3M’s Combat Arms Earplugs (CAEv2), which were standard-issue for U.S. military members from 2003 to 2015.
The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that 3M knowingly sold hundreds of thousands of defective Combat Arms Earplugs to the United States military for more than a decade. The lawsuit further alleges that 3M was aware that the defect, which caused the earplugs to dislodge from the users’ ears, would expose service members to dangerous and disabling noise, but the company failed to disclose the problem or issue a recall even to this day.
The defect in the Combat Arms Earplugs was only disclosed to the public when 3M agreed to a $9.1 million settlement with the U.S. government in a whistleblower action over the same issue in July 2018. According to the settlement agreement in that lawsuit, the United States alleged that 3M knew the earplugs were “too short for proper insertion in users’ ears” but that “3M did not disclose this information to the United States and delivered the (earplugs)… knowing that the product contained defects that impaired the (earplugs’) serviceability.”
“Countless numbers of service members and veterans have needlessly suffered permanent hearing loss, which will forever affect their lives,” said George Hanson, a product defect lawyer with Stueve Siegel Hanson. “3M must be held accountable for the harm it has caused to so many people by prioritizing its profits over the safety of the men and women serving our country,” added Eric Gibbs of Gibbs Law Group.
Attorney Gregory Travalio of Isaac Wiles further stated, “As a retired member of the U.S. Army myself, I am committed to seeking justice on behalf of the military members and veterans who suffered from 3M’s unconscionable conduct.”
U.S. service members and veterans who used 3M Combat Arms Earplugs and suffered hearing loss, tinnitus or other injuries should contact our legal team for a free case evaluation at www.defectiveearplugscase.com or 1-866-211-4118.
About Our Team
We have assembled a coalition of three prominent law firms - Gibbs Law Group, Stueve Siegel Hanson and Isaac Wiles - from across the country, with expertise in successfully litigating class actions, product liability claims, and other actions. Our attorneys have extensive experience helping clients, including service members and veterans, recover money for personal injuries and other damages caused by defective products.
Our team is committed to holding companies like 3M accountable for their actions, and each of the firms in our coalition has recovered significant sums for clients from some of the largest corporations in the world. Our law firms and our attorneys have a track record of success that has earned them numerous awards for their work, including Best Lawyers in America, Best of the Bar, Leading Plaintiff Lawyers in America, Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California and Consumer Protection MVP.
