Posted by Colin Byrne.
In this article from August 29th of 2023, It explains a huge products liability case involving the Military, the Government, and the company at blame, 3M. The company, 3M, supplied the military earplugs that were supposed to keep the soldiers from losing their hearing. This product was supposed to let the soldiers hear soft whispers and noises, but loud noises like explosions where not heard. In the end that is not what happened.
Multiple soldiers experienced a decrease in their hearing and started having problems, leading to this lawsuit. “The earplug litigation represents the largest mass tort in U.S. history. There have been more than 300,000 claims in which veterans accuse 3M and Aearo Technologies, a company acquired by 3M in 2008, of producing faulty earplugs that failed to protect their hearing from noise damage when they received them from the U.S. military.” (fox business) As explained in this quote from the article, you can clearly see the severity of this case. The company which the suit is against, 3M, is ordered to pay 50 million dollars to Army Veterans. Along with 9.1 million to the to the U.S government to resolve the allegations.
3M though, continued to try and get out of the allegations and the money owed. Stating that if the earplugs were worn properly, the lasting injuries would not have occurred. It was found that the earplugs would imperceptibly become loose in a person’s ear. After all of the allegations 3M shares dropped over 11%, compared to the S&P 500’s 17% rise. Overall, I think the final say was correct. There was no warning on the earplugs saying they may cause hearing loss. With the result of the people losing their hearing, 3M is well within the realm of being sued and got the fair treatment for their faulty product.
Colin is a sports management major with a legal studies in business minor at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2025.
Products Liability