Two Florida juries on Friday delivered damages awards worth a collective $58 million to military veterans who argued that earplug manufacturer 3M Co. was liable for their hearing loss.
The verdicts are the latest developments in the federal multidistrict litigation involving 3M and alleged military earplug defects in the Northern District of Florida. One of the verdicts, which was awarded by a Pensacola jury to U.S. Army veteran Luke Vilsmeyer, amounted to $50 million in compensatory damages for pain, suffering, disability and loss of enjoyment of life.
The law firm that represented Vilsmeyer, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz PLLC, indicated in a blog that the $50 million verdict for the plaintiff’s hearing loss and tinnitus was the largest compensatory verdict to date in the military earplugs litigation.
On the same day, a Tallahassee jury awarded veteran Steven Wilkerson compensatory damages of $8 million – $7 million for future pain and suffering and $1 million for past pain and suffering, according to the jury verdict form. In that trial, the jury found that 3M misrepresented earplug information that Wilkerson relied on, leading to the injury. The jury, however, didn’t find that design defects caused his injuries.
3M said in an email that it is disappointed by the verdicts and would appeal the damages awards.
“The same issues raised in our earlier appeals relating to legal defenses and evidentiary rulings apply in this trial,” 3M spokeswoman Carolyn LaViolette told the Florida Record. “Our five successful trials in the bellwether cases — as well as the fact that we won on seven of the nine claims litigated in the Wilkerson trial — demonstrate that plaintiffs face significant challenges proving their claims. These challenges have no doubt motivated their counsel to dismiss eight of the claims that were selected for trial, compared to 16 that have now been tried in court.”
The company will continue to defend the military earplugs and the firm’s record at trial and on appeal, LaViolette said.
The law firm Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis, & Overholtz reports that it represents 40,000 retired and active service personnel out of an estimated 250,000 cases filed in the federal multidistrict litigation, which has been termed one of the largest mass torts in U.S. history.