Earlier this week, in Tallahassee, Florida, a federal court jury awarded $13 million to Guillermo Camarillorazo in the latest 3M bellwether trial. 

Largest Single Plaintiff Award in 3M Bellwether Trial

Camarillorazo is a U.S. Army sergeant who claimed to suffer hearing damage as a result 3M’s military-issue earplugs. The verdict, under the jurisdiction of Northern District of Florida Chief Judge Mark Walker, included about $800,000 in compensatory damages and $12.25 million in punitive damages. This bellwether trial is the seventh one in a large multi-district litigation (MDL) concerning the Combat Arms Earplugs version 2 (CAEv2). It was the largest award yet for a single plaintiff.

This decision closely followed a verdict in favor of 3M. On Friday, November 12, a Pensacola jury, presided over by Northern District of Alabama Judge Liles Burke, rejected similar claims by Army veteran Joseph Palanki. In total, plaintiffs have won four trials, and 3M, three. 

Regarding Monday’s loss, 3M said it was “disappointing” and plans to appeal. Conversely, the company believes that Friday’s verdict was an “important demonstration that jurors agree 3M’s CAEv2 product was safe and effective to use.” 

Plaintiff lawyers believe that Camarillorazo “successful held 3M accountable for putting profits over the safety of those who served our nation.” In a separate statement, they shared their “deep respect and admiration” for Palanki and noted their confidence towards future trials.

What’s Next for 3M MDL

3M is facing more than 270,000 claims over the earplugs, which the U.S. military used between 2003 and 2015. The plaintiffs argue that they suffered hearing loss and damage, including tinnitus (a persistent ringing in the ears), because the earplugs were defective. 3M denies the claims.

Most of the cases are consolidated in the MDL before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida. In the first five 3M bellwether trials, juries awarded a total of over $15 million to five plaintiffs. Nine more bellwether trials are scheduled between now and the end of May 2022.

For more information about the 3M bellwether trails and most recent settlement, contact us today.

Additional Reading:

Fifth Bellwether Trial for 3M Combat Earplugs Results in Defense Verdict

Florida Jury Awards $8.2 Million Against 3M Over Defective Combat Earplugs

3M Earplug Cases Sped Up Due to Backlog

Jury Verdict for Plaintiffs in Latest 3M Earplug Lawsuit

A jury recently declared a defense verdict in a lawsuit between 3M and a U.S. Army veteran who claimed she suffered hearing damage after using the company’s Combat Arms Earplugs version 2 (CAEv2). This trial was the fifth one chosen as a test case, or a bellwether, in a multi district litigation (MDL) over the defective earplugs. 

Defense Verdict in Fifth Bellwether Trial for 3M

Michelle Blum alleged that she developed both hearing loss and tinnitus, a constant ringing in her ears, as a result of using the earplugs during her service in the U.S. Army Reserves, National Guard, and Army between 1989 and 2009. Her attorney are Bryan Aylstock of Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz, Shelley Hutson of Clark, Love & Hutson, and Chris Seeger of Seeger Weiss.

Her legal team is, of course, disappointed in the verdict. “We continue to believe that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that 3M knew their CAEv2 earplugs were defective yet allowed our service members who relied on them for hearing protection to suffer from preventable hearing loss and tinnitus,” they said in a joint statement.

3M, however, believes that the results confirm their “confidence in [the] case and shows that plaintiffs face significant challenges — not just here but in all the trials in this litigation — as each case must be proven on its own facts.” 

History of Allegations Against 3M’s Defective CAEv2

There are over 270,000 claims against the company due to their earplugs. CAEv2 were standard issue for much of the U.S. military between 2003 and 2015. Most of the lawsuits are consolidated before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida. It is the largest MDL in history. 

Overall, plaintiffs have won in three of the five bellwether trials and been awarded about 15 million dollars to five individuals. Eleven trials are currently scheduled, with the first one beginning this week. 

For more information about the 3M MDL and most recent settlement, contact us today.

Additional Reading:

Florida Jury Awards $8.2 Million Against 3M Over Defective Combat Earplugs

3M Earplug Cases Sped Up Due to Backlog

Jury Verdict for Plaintiffs in Latest 3M Earplug Lawsuit

A federal jury in Pensacola, Florida, ruled that 3M Co. and subsidiary Aearo Technologies LLC must pay over $8 million in damages because of their defective combat earplugs and bear responsibility for a veteran’s tinnitus.

Bellwether Trial Results

U.S. Army veteran Private Brandon Adkins claims that 3M’s failure to disclose the ineffectiveness of its Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2) caused his injuries. Specifically, he argues that they were too short to offer necessary protection. Additionally, they often came loose without a solder’s knowledge. Adkin’s case is the fourth test trial in the mass tort litigation.

Bellwether trials gauge the strength of the plaintiffs’ claims as well as the scope of damages. Global settlement negotiations will ultimately depend on these results. The first trial, completed in April, involved three plaintiffs and resulted in a $7.1 million verdict against 3M. The next two test trials were split. The $1.7 million in damages to the third plaintiff were ultimately reduced due to comparative fault. Still, these results bring added pressure to 3M — especially since Adkins was a “defense pick” selected by 3M due to the weakness of his claims. 

3M’s Defective Combat Earplugs

In 2018, 3M agreed to pay $9.1 million to settle a lawsuit between a whistleblower and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The plaintiff claimed that the company violated the False Claims Act by knowingly selling defective ear plugs to the U.S. military.

There are currently over 250,000 claims pending in federal court and several hundreds in state court in Minnesota, where 3M headquarters are located. Next month, another bellwether trial will begin.

For more information about the 3M MDL and most recent settlement, contact us today.

Additional Reading:

3M Earplug Cases Sped Up Due to Backlog

Jury Verdict for Plaintiffs in Latest 3M Earplug Lawsuit

Update: Tort Lawsuit Against 3M Begins This Month in Pensacola

3M Earplug Hearing Loss Trial Scheduled for Spring 2021

In an effort to lessen a backlog of over 250,000 cases, a federal judge in Florida has ordered that thousands of lawsuits between veterans and earplug manufacturer 3M be scheduled for trials. Judge Casey Rogers in the Northern District of Florida called to move up 1,358 cases in the first wave and between 10,000 and 20,000 in later waves. The cases are part of the nation’s largest multi-district litigation (MDL).

3M Combat Arms Version 2 Dual-Sided Earplug

Plaintiffs claim that 3M sold earplugs to the military that loosened from the ear canal, causing hearing loss and/or tinnitus, a ringing in the ears. The earplugs in question are 3M’s Combat Arms Version 2 dual-sided earplug, where were used by the military until 2015. The product was never recalled. In fact, version 4 of the earplug is still used by the military, according to 3M.

Judge Rogers believes that moving cases to the active docket will accelerate discovery and ongoing bellwether trials, which provide useful information for a jury in order to potential reach a settlement for all cases. He has reached out to other judges in Florida’s Northern District for help during the bellwether trials scheduled for October and December. Meanwhile, 3M declined to comment following this recent change.

Legal History Between 3M and Veterans

So far, the cases of five veterans have been heard in three jury trials, all presided over by Judge Rogers. The first trial, which took place in April, resulted in a $7.1 million award to three Army veterans. 3M won the second trial in May. During the third trial, held in June, a jury found 3M partially liable, awarding one veteran $1.05 million. 

Additionally, a trial scheduled for September has been dismissed, as the veteran’s injury was “unreleased to noise-induced hearing loss or 3M.” The Minnesota-based earplug company added, “Simply because a case is filed does not mean it has any merit. Large, multi-district litigations, like this one, often see allegations that have no basis in fact simply to increase the number of claims against companies.” 

For more information about the 3M MDL and most recent settlement, contact us today.

Additional Reading:

Jury Verdict for Plaintiffs in Latest 3M Earplug Lawsuit

Update: Tort Lawsuit Against 3M Begins This Month in Pensacola

3M Earplug Hearing Loss Trial Scheduled for Spring 2021

Last month, in Pensacola, Florida, a federal jury awarded $1.7 million to Lloyd Baker of Wyoming, one of over 230,000 members of the United States military who has sued 3M because of their defective Combat ArmsEarplugsVersion 2 (CAEv2). In one of the largest mass torts ever, the jury ruled in favor of Baker’s “failure to warn” claim about the risks associated with the 3M earplugs. They declared that 3M was 62 percent responsible for Baker’s hearing damage, with Baker himself 38 percent liable, meaning he will ultimately receive around $1.1 million. 

3M’s Response to Jury Verdict

3M noted that the jury rejected four other claims by Baker. In a press statement, the company declared: “We are exploring our appellate options with respect to the remainder of the jury’s verdict. [This] outcome, as well as our win in the last bellwether trial, affirms our confidence in our case, and we will continue to defend ourselves in this litigation.”

So far, 3M has lost two of three bellwether trials in this legal battle with the military over defective earplugs. As Bryan Aylstock, a Pensacola-based attorney for the plaintiffs, pointed out, “Ultimately, 3M cannot escape the fact that a jury has entered a verdict in favor of four out of the five service members to go to trial to date.”

In the first trial, held in April, a jury gave $7.1 million, primarily in punitive damages, to three veterans. In the second trial, held in May, a jury rejected the plaintiff’s claims. At least two more trials are scheduled for September and October.

Ultimately, given that over 200,000 cases are pending, 3M could be liable for hundreds of billions of dollars in damages. These lawsuits are tied together in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) case, meaning that the bellwether trials will determine the resolution for all claims. The less variation among the trial results, the more likely a settlement.

For more information about the 3M MDL and most recent settlement, contact us today.

Additional Reading:

Update: Tort Lawsuit Against 3M Begins This Month in Pensacola

3M Earplug Hearing Loss Trial Scheduled for Spring 2021

Later this month, a mass tort lawsuit is set to begin in Pensacola, Florida, against 3M for the defective ear protection that the company made for the military, which led to hearing loss in servicemen and women. As of January 2021, there were more than 220,000 service members who have filed suit. 

WUWF News (NPR for Florida’s Great Northwest) spoke to Bryan Aylstock, an attorney at the law firm Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis, and Overholtz in Pensacola for more insight into the suit. “We now have a trial set for late March involving three service members,” he shares. “And then two subsequent trials involving single service members — what we call ‘bellwether trials,’ to help the parties and the court determine what the evidence is, what the facts show, and how to proceed following those trials.”

When looking at mass tort versus a class-action lawsuit, Aylstock explains that the two take very different approaches. “We’re signing up individual service members who have hearing loss or tinnitus following the use of these defective earplugs, and we’re individually filing their lawsuits. So there are an awful lot of them — probably too many to ever go to trial,” he says. “But they are treated individually; their cases rise and fall on their own merit.” In these instances, the attorneys are able to talk to the individuals involved and understand their experiences. This sort of interaction typically doesn’t occur in a class-action lawsuit, which is not an individualized process. 

It’s important to note that this lawsuit is only against 3M, not the government or military. In 2018, 3M settled with the government for over nine million dollars in a case concerning the fraud they committed for selling defective earplugs to the military. “They were selling these products for a huge profit to the U.S. military for 15 years without telling them the truth about how the earplugs really worked and the defects that the company executives knew about,” Aylstock adds. 

In an e-mail statement submitted to WUWF News, 3M said: “We are confident in our case and look forward to defending against plaintiff’s claims at the upcoming trial. As we will demonstrate, the Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 product was not defectively designed and did not cause injuries. The Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 product is effective and safe to use, and its design reflected the direction and feedback of individuals acting on the military’s behalf.”

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