A Pensacola jury on Friday ordered 3M Corp. to pay a U.S. Army veteran who blamed his hearing loss on the company’s military earplugs $77.5 million in damages – the largest amount ever awarded to a single plaintiff in the ongoing litigation.
Jurors found that plaintiff James Beal had proved his claims about the company’s combat arms earplugs, version 2 (CAEv2), including allegations about 3M’s liability for a design defect, a failure to warn or instruct product users and fraudulent misrepresentation. In turn, the jury awarded compensatory damages of $5 million and $72.5 million in punitive damages.
The Miller & Zois personal injury law firm indicated that the award was the largest among the damage awards announced during the bellwether, or test, trials for the 3M multidistrict litigation. The trial involving Beal was the last of the bellwether trials, which resulted in $300 million in total, according to Miller & Zois.
In a statement emailed to the Florida Record, 3M expressed disappointment with the outcome in the Beal case but noted that many other juries have concluded that the military earplugs are safe and effective.
“As in previous bellwether trials, we were prevented from presenting crucial evidence to the jury, and we will address that issue, among others, in our appeal,” the statement says. “We disagree with the punitive damages awarded in this case. … This award will be challenged in the appeal we file of (the May 20) verdict, as we continue to vigorously defend our record in these matters.”
The company continues to stand by the CAEv2 product, saying the earplugs reflected 3M’s commitment to the safety of U.S. military members. And the bellwether trials have shown that even plaintiff-selected trials did not always result in compensable claims.
“Our six trial wins, not to mention the eight cases plaintiffs’ attorneys dismissed and our pending appeals, encourage us as we continue defending our record in the next phase of the litigation,” the company’s statement says.
Though the docket for the multidistrict litigation contains more than 290,000 claims, 3M contends it’s impossible to tell how many of those claims will ultimately move from the administrative to the active docket of cases – or how many are without merit.