The Minnesota based 3M business manufactured the Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs that were used by armed services personnel from the years 2003 to 2015 during combat and training exercises to defend soldier hearing from gunfire and explosions. Hearing issues are one of the most common issues suffered by veterans so hearing defense is a major concern for U.S. soldiers. Based on various scenarios, the 3M Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs were created to provide two different amounts of defense. The dual-ended plugs have a design that is easily noticeable. As their name implies, they consisted of two outward facing earplugs, one green and one yellow.
While the yellow part was put into the ear, this is known as Open Fire mode. This mode was created to offer normal hearing for top situational awareness. It could allow staff to communicate, accept commands and hear other important noises on the battlefield while still providing defense from top level noises like gunfire and explosions. This would have been the desired level in combat situations.
When the green part was placed inside the ear, this was referred to as Closed Protection mode. Constant Protection was designed to stop all sounds more completely in order to provide complete protection. Per 3M, the mode is for high-level sustained noise scenarios such as those in tracked vehicles and air support. This level may have also been used in several standard training exercises and environments as well. Claimed Hearing Issues Combat Arms EarplugsManufactured by 3M and its predecessor, Aearo Technologies, Inc, Dual Ended Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2) that were made for military use and used widely by thousands of personnel sent to Afghanistan and Iraq from 2003 to 2015. The CAEV2 was designed to allow for two separate protection modes, Weapons Fire mode and Closed Protection mode. The applicable setting is determined by which part of the earplug is placed inside the ear, yellow for Weapons Fire mode, green means Constant Protection mode. Weapons Fire mode is created to allow for hearing speech and communicating while maintaining protection from damaging sound levels from gunfire and explosions. The Constant Protection mode blocked all noise more completely which was useful for soldiers operating in track vehicles, in air support or during regular training. Both settings were claimed to stop noise up to a specific standard but in current legal action, the government has claimed that neither mode of the ear plug met the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) which 3M alleged due to a non-reported design error.
$9.1 million Settlement Between 3M and the U.S. Government In July of 2018, the U.S. DOJ announced that 3M had agreed to pay $9.1 million in order to resolve claims that they knowingly sold the Combat Arms Earplugs v2 to the American military without disclosing errors that hampered the effectiveness of the hearing defense device. The lawsuit was originally placed in 2016 under the whistleblower part of the False Claims Act that allows private parties to sue on behalf of the federal government whenever they think that a defendant has made false claims for government funds. In this issue, the whistleblower was awarded $1,911,000 for their part in the lawsuit.
Per the DOJ press announcement, the settlement took care of allegations that 3M violated the False Claims Act by marketing or causing to be sold defective earplugs to the Defense Logistics Agency. Specifically, the U.S. alleged that 3M, and its predecessor, Aearo Technologies, Inc., were aware that the CAEv2 was too short for correct insertion into users’ ears and that the plugs could come loose imperceptibly and therefore did not perform well for certain people. tinnitus lawsuit was also alleged that this design defect was known to 3M but was not relayed the Department of Defense.
Injuries to Personnel If the allegations against 3M are true, many servicemen could have used error prone earplugs that didn’t defend them as the product was supposed to. Based on the claimed design error, the plugs could come loose while inside the ear unknown to the soldier letting damaging sounds to make their way inside the ear. Harmful sound levels may have serious and permanent effects including partial or total hearing loss, or tinnitus, a buzzing in the ears. Hearing damage is one of the most common issues suffered by active duty and former servicemen. Tinnitus, which can be debilitating, is just as prevalent. According to a research scientist with the VA Portland Healthcare System, last year there were over 1.6 million veterans looking for medical care for chronic tinnitus.
You Might be Entitled for Compensation If you or a loved one were provided Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs during service in the military between 2003 and 2015, and have since had partial or total hearing damage or suffer from tinnitus, your scenario should be discussed with the Meneo Law Group to discover every option available to you.
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