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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Tracy Everhart

Tracy Everhart is the Editor for Drug Law Journal. A highly-trained and certified medical professional, Tracy is also an accomplished medical writer. After spending years on the front lines of the medical profession, Tracy now devotes her expertise and skills to researching and reporting on new drugs and devices that enter the market, as well as their side-effects and the real-life stories involved. Prior to joining Drug Law Journal, Tracy wrote for benchmark online healthcare resources focused on families and, in particular, women’s health issues. Tracy holds post-graduate degrees from both the American College of Healthcare Sciences and the Yale School of Nursing. She is also a graduate of both Hampshire College, where she studied microbiology and the University of South Carolina school of nursing.