
October 2021 — Attorney David G. Bryant of Louisville’s David Bryant Law and Bryant Law Center Mass Torts Division is pleased to announce his appointment to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC) for the federal Multidistrict Litigation In re: 3M Combat Arms Earplugs Liability Litigation currently taking place in Pensacola, Florida.
The History of 3M Earplug Lawsuits
In 2018, a whistleblower lawsuit was filed against Minnesota-based 3M alleging that the company sold defective dual-ended Combat Arms earplugs to the United States military between 2003 and 2015. The plaintiffs alleged these earplugs led to significant hearing loss and tinnitus due to using the earplugs while in the military.
In 2019, these cases were consolidated into a federal Multidistrict Litigation, or MDL, by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Over 250,000 cases are now pending against 3M over these earplugs. The MDL is now the largest case of its type in history.
So far, jurors have handed down four verdicts in bellwether trials. The fifth lawsuit against 3M on behalf of a veteran is currently being heard in Florida. In the first 4 cases, jurors awarded verdicts between $1.7 million and $8.2 million.
The Role of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
As a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, Mr. Bryant will be responsible for representing the common interests of all plaintiffs in their lawsuits against 3M. He and his co-counsel will be responsible for gathering all of the evidence common to these cases and prosecuting these commonalities so that the attorneys for the individual plaintiffs can focus on the specifics of their client’s cases.
Mr. Bryant is proud to be a part of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and represent our service members’ interests in this MDL.
For more information on the 3M earplug lawsuit visit the Bryant Law Center, at which David Bryant serves as Of Counsel.