March 30, 2022 — A federal jury in Tallahassee, Florida has awarded $8 million to a U.S. military veteran who suffered hearing loss while wearing 3M earplugs.
The lawsuit was filed by Steve Wilkerson, a 43-year-old former U.S. Army National Guard soldier from Lucedale, Mississippi.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1999 to 2002, the Army National Guard from 2005 to 2013, according to court records.
He claims that he was first issued the CAEv2 earplugs in 2010 during training. He continued to use the earplugs as his “primary hearing protection” in Afghanistan in 2011, until his retirement in 2013.
His lawyers claim he was “exposed to noise from military vehicles, weapons and explosions during training and combat,” and now suffers from tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and hearing loss in both ears.
His case was the 13th to go to trial against 3M, with juries siding with military veterans in eight trials. 3M is still facing lawsuits from around 280,000 veterans who accuse the company of selling defective earplugs that could slip out and fail to protect users from hearing loss.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida — Case number 7:20-cv-00035.
Do I have a 3M Earplug Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting 3M earplug induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know is a military veteran who was diagnosed with hearing loss or tinnitus, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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