Round five goes to 3M in a massive legal battle over the efficacy of the company's military earplugs.
A federal jury in Pensacola on Friday rejected claims by a Louisiana U.S. Army veteran that a defective earplug design — and 3M's alleged negligence — caused her tinnitus and hearing loss.
Maplewood-based 3M has won two of the five bellwether trials over its earplugs, which were once standard issue for U.S. military members. In the other three trials, five plaintiffs have won monetary damages totaling $17 million.
The trials are part of one of the largest U.S. mass torts ever, involving legal claims against 3M from more than 250,000 veterans and military personnel. Plaintiffs claim the earplugs were knowingly defective, and that 3M failed to properly warn them about the alleged flaws.
3M, which stopped selling Combat Arms CAEv2 earplugs in 2015, has maintained the product was sound.
"We are pleased with today's verdict, which demonstrates once again that the CAEv2 product was effective and safe to use," the company said in a statement.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a statement they were "disappointed" in the verdict but "continue to believe that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that 3M knew their CAEv2 earplugs were defective."
The latest trial involved Michelle Blum, a 51-year-old resident of Denham Springs, La., who served in the Army from 1989 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2009. She used Combat Arms earplugs during training and combat.
