“If a veteran is suffering hearing loss or tinnitus they believe is a result of their service, we encourage them to contact us so we can assist them in filing a claim for VA compensation,” said Bryan Suddith, the administrative officer at the Montgomery County Veterans Service Commission in Dayton.
Some veterans have sought legal action against the chemical and consumer product manufacturer. 3M has identified 250,000 active claims for hearing loss. The settlement would result in about $24,000 per person, not accounting for court costs and legal fees.
That may not be enough to make up for the life-altering injuries service members say they suffered after the earplugs failed to protect them from the roar of heavy artillery and tanks, Bloomberg News reported.
3M itself can walk away from the pact if it doesn’t get the support of at least 98% of claimants eligible for compensation. But that would force the company back to the negotiating table and leave it facing hundreds of thousands of lawsuits and a formidable array of jury trials — the very outcome it sought to avoid by striking the deal.
Under the terms of the settlement, which Bloomberg reported Sept. 26 and 3M announced Tuesday, the plaintiffs will have about six months to decide whether to accept a payout under the accord, opt out of the deal to demand a trial, or drop their suit, according to court filings.
The lawsuits have been consolidated in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) case in federal court in Pensacola, Florida — one of the biggest MDLs in U.S. history.
Getting to 98%
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond professor who teaches product liability law, finds the settlement amount low.
“I don’t see how 3M gets to that 98% number based on the money,” he said.
Tobias noted that in a recent trial over the earplugs, a Florida jury last year ordered the company to pay a U.S. Army veteran $77.5 million in damages. Faced with a settlement payout in the thousands of dollars, veterans may decide to take their chances at trial. 3M lost 10 of 16 early cases tried, and the juries awarded the plaintiffs a total of $265 million in damages.
Elizabeth Burch, a University of Georgia law professor who specializes in MDLs, said she thinks a bigger payout would have improved the deal’s likely opt-in rate.
“$6 billion sounds like a lot of money,” she said. “But it’s really not, especially for the more serious cases.”
In addition, 3M has ongoing litigation related to PFAS “forever” chemicals. Miami Valley cities like Bellbrook and Fairborn have been named in the 3M PFAS settlement. Although it’s unclear what both cities will receive after the settlement is finalized, Bellbrook and Fairborn leaders said settlement money will be used to address PFAS contamination.
3M Chief Legal Affairs Officer Kevin Rhodes said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday that all the parties involved in the earplugs settlement intend to meet or exceed the 98% threshold.
“The settlement agreement is structured to promote claimants’ participation,” 3M said in a statement then. “In terms of how much each plaintiff receives under the agreement, the exact amount will depend on the number of claimants that decide to participate in the agreement.
Under the settlement’s terms, veterans who suffered the most from hearing-related afflictions will be eligible for a recovery greater than the average payout, drawn from an “extraordinary injury fund.”
‘The cheap seats’
Bryan Aylstock, a Florida-based lawyer for the earplug plaintiffs, predicted the settlement would reach the 98% threshold and said he was proud of the deal. He said he and the other plaintiffs lawyers leading the talks sought to get “real value” for their clients “without pushing the company into bankruptcy,” which could lessen or even wipe out the payments.
Chris Seeger, another of the leading plaintiffs attorneys, called criticism of the sum simplistic.
“It’s easy to make these predictions from the cheap seats, when you don’t have any clients who are depending on you to deliver some justice for their injuries,” especially from a company facing such financial challenges, he said.
Assistance outside of litigation
Some veterans groups themselves cheered the settlement. The Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States, which represents 5.5 million veterans, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, which advocates for more than 45,000 wounded vets, are both backing the deal, saying it provides relief for former service members grappling with chronic ailments from their years on the battlefield.
Local veterans advocates pointed to assistance impacted people can access through veterans benefits.
Butler County Veterans Services Commission director Matt Farmer said the lawsuit is outside of the work of his veterans service commission, but his agency works with veterans who have reported hearing loss after their service.
It’s unclear how many claims with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs locally have been filed in connection to tinnitus and hearing loss, as county-level veterans service commissions do not track specific issues among claims, Farmer explained.
Suddith said in Montgomery County, his office works with veterans to file several hearing loss related claims on a weekly basis.
Suddith and Farmer said veterans can obtain hearing aids and captioned telephones through their claims, as well as referrals to other services to help minimize the impact of hearing loss and tinnitus.
For the class action lawsuit, the pact still must be approved by U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers in Pensacola. On Tuesday Rodgers ordered the plaintiffs lawyers to disclose any outside investors backing the suits, saying she wants to ensure that the claimants aren’t being “exploited by predatory lending practices.”
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