Friday morning (January 14, 2022) was Day 5. We get it. I think 3M believes it will win this case and will be in a stronger settlement position after a victory. There is no risk or cost. (And if you know a fellow soldier who suffered a hearing-related injury that does not know of the litigation, call that soldier and tell him or her to call a lawyer. Our 3M Lawsuit attorneys can discuss your legal rights in the . His reasons for the denial were articulated by the Judge from the bench during the trial. After presenting short bits of video testimony from a handful of witnesses, 3M rested. September 8, 2022 Update: The 3M earplug mediation is scheduled for next week on September 15-16, 2022 at the United States District Court in Pensacola, Florida. Judge Rodgers also issued a new Case Management Order identifying a third wave of 500 additional cases to be prepared for the next phase of trials. It means 3Ms bankruptcy gambit failed as I predicted from the beginning. Now 3M might have a greater interest. I think this will happen, but this prediction would defy history. Contributory negligence will not be at issue in this trial as Judge Rodgers granted summary judgment on that issue to the plaintiff earlier this month. Dont you have to look in the mirror at some point? In addition to Casalis testimony, 3Ms lawyers presented the jury with clips of video deposition testimony from several witnesses, including the plaintiffs wife. But, of course, 3M has already asked the bankruptcy judge to extend the automatic stay to protect 3M and Aearo. These defective earplugs have led to hearing damage, tinnitus, and other conditions, according to thousands of service members. Department of Defense Data Reveals No Hearing Loss Among Vast Majority "@type": "Question", It would be nice to close out Trial #16 with a win. We still believe the majority of these lawsuits will settle in 2022. Our lawyers and many soldiers we have talked to agree with 3M on this point. Listen, Im not a financial analyst. Posted on July 15, 2021 in Class Actions, Consumer Law . This is garbage the general rule of the Bankruptcy Codes powerful automatic stay is that it should not extend to joint tortfeasors. Twelve new 3M lawsuits were filed today; 30 were filed yesterday. December 23, 2022 Update: MDL Judge Casey Rodgers brought down a mighty hammer on 3M yesterday afternoon. May 17, 2022: Lets get you up to speed on what is happening in the Beal trial. The jury found in favor of Camarillorazo on all 7 of his tort claims and apportioned 100% of the fault on 3M. July 15, 2022: The 3M earplug settlement talks began today and will go through the weekend in Florida. There were some real weaknesses in that case for the victim in terms of prior inconsistent statements and other causes it could point to as sources of his pain and suffering. Many veterans will understandably reject this settlement. Now it may be time for Plan B: a comprehensive, and still costly, settlement process for US soldiers who claim hearing damage.. Aearo also is named as a defendant in the earplug suits against 3M. The median compensatory damage award is $583,448. These veterans can now sue 3M and demand financial compensation. Dr. Crawford is an ENT doctor who spent 24 years in the Army where he specialized in hearing protection. In July 2022, 3M said its Aearo Technologies subsidiary, which it acquired in 2008 and which made the earplugs, had voluntarily filed for bankruptcy to help establish a trust as it looked to . The plaintiffs counsel presented a short 40-minute rebuttal case and then the court heard oral arguments from both sides in support of their motions for judgment as a matter of law on various issues. Our 3M earplug lawsuit attorneys get calls and online inquiries about this litigation every single day. The trial resumed on Tuesday. We were following the Wilkerson trial more closely and the jury is out in that case and will likely issue its verdict on Monday. 3M Earplug Lawsuit | March 2023 Update In her Order, Judge Rodgers explained that the purpose of the data day is to educate those outside of leadership roles in the MDL about the nature and scope of the hearing-related claims in this litigation.. Judge Rodgers ruled on pretrial motions in both cases earlier this week and the trials should begin on January 10, 2022. So far, 6 out of the 9 bellwether plaintiffs have won their claims against 3M and been awarded damages. The $12 million in punitive damages awarded to Camarillorazo is a damaging indictment that demonstrates the jury was angered by 3Ms conduct concerning the defective earplugs. Rhodes casually brushed off the ruling by the Bankruptcy Court denying, which rejected 3Ms bankruptcy strategy. Aearo, in a filing this week, said an analysis of Defense Department audiometric data shows the vast majority of earplug plaintiffs did not suffer hearing loss under the standards of the American Medical Association (AMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Over the past two years, military plaintiffs won 10 of 16 earplug bellwether . This prevents any proceedings from moving forward against Aearo in the earplug lawsuits, but not against 3M. 3Ms big defense, that they seemed confident would succeed, to end these cases before they began was asserting that all claims are preempted by the Feres doctrine. The Justice Department is seeking to dismiss Aearos bankruptcy in Indiana, claiming as it did before the 3rd Circuit that its Chapter 11 filing was a ploy to benefit its solvent, dividend paying parent company and escape ongoing litigation over allegedly faulty earplugs. July 26, 2022 Update: 3M is trying to play the bankruptcy card, placing Aearo into bankruptcy. ). Dr. Packer was a key witness in the Sloan/Wayman bellwether trial that resulted in a $110 million verdict against 3M. Text. A ruling on this key issue wont happen until at least August 18, 2022. I do not think even 3Ms lawyers believe it has much chance of success. But if you have yet to speak to a lawyer about your case, now is the time. It asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana to deny Aearos choice of Kirkland as its bankruptcy lawyers. December 15, 2021 Update: $22.5 million verdict in Finley last Friday. These kinds of cases can be quite complex. On Monday, a jury was picked and the parties gave opening statements. This is not a good dynamic for 3M who would rather not battle a group of soldiers in the courtroom. The 7th Circuit panel found that the appeal warranted immediate review because of the large number of people it could impact and the critical precedent the decision will set. Posted on November 05, 2021 in Class Actions . In addition to the caps on attorneys fees, the new law . "text": " As self-serving as it is to say, our lawyers get this question constantly. This sounds like a bad thing. September 20, 2022 Update: No global settlement. On the 3rd day of trial, the plaintiffs presented the testimony of Elliott Berger. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Why? 3M Earplug Lawsuit Update 2023 and Top 10 FAQs - LezDo techmed Blog Actually, 3M lost $50 billion in market value. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to consolidate all defective earplug cases to a single federal court for coordinated pretrial proceedings. On the 7th day of trial, the defense presented live testimony from Dr. James Crawford and Eric Fallon. The trial is already off to a good start. 3M was counting on winning Wilkerson to keep afloat the idea that "they win some, we win some" and only the best 3M earplug lawsuits have real value. Meanwhile, the parties have agreed to continue Wave 3 discovery deadlines within the MDL. We think this is an effort by Judge Rodgers to facilitate continued settlement negotiations between 3M and the plaintiffs by giving everyone involved in the litigation a better idea of the scope and nature of the 268,000 hearing loss claims currently on the table. All you need to do is provide a small bit of information. 3M hit with $8.2 million verdict in fourth military earplug trial June 27, 2022 Update: The Sunday edition of the Wall Street Journal featured an article entitled 3M Faces Billions in Liabilities Over $7.63 Earplugs. March 2, 2023 Update: We wrote a separate post on the 3M estimation motion that announced most plaintiffs suffered no injury. I am so grateful that I was lucky to pick Miller & Zois. The administrative docket helps lawyers on both sides. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets So hiring another lawyer is unlikely to speed up the path to a 3M earplug settlement. Thursday morning on Day 4 in the Sloan/Wayman trial, the jury heard short video deposition testimony from three fact witnesses. The motion argues that Wilkerson failed to establish that his hearing loss was caused by the 3M earplugs. It is. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. At the same time, the plaintiffs brief in response to 3Ms appeal is due in the 11th Circuit early next month. But a mass tort of this size has never had to face the logistical challenges that come with this many victims. We will review your claim and advise you on your best legal options. We think this may be an effort by Judge Rodgers to keep the door open for further settlement negotiations as things play in the appellate courts. The executives at 3M that decided to buy Aearo Technologies need to accept this mistake and move on. Last week, the MDL judge granted a summary judgment motion by Beal, which effectively blocks 3M from presenting nearly all of their affirmative defenses, including contributory negligence. Your attorney should be in regular contact with you. So the design flaw was that the earplugs stem needed longer for soldiers with large, or even average, ear canals. Day 7-9 has been a parade of experts and fact witnesses for the plaintiff. 1,500 active cases have now been sent for trial prep for 2023. But there is more reason for hope than after Judge Rodgers order on Wednesday. This case lays out a three-part test that provides a claim is pre-empted if: 3Ms preemption arguments failed. If you have a solid claim, you support this, too. What is the Average Payout for the 3M Earplug Lawsuit? But this is the depressing part of the judges order: Hopefully as the MDL, the bankruptcy, and the various appeals proceed, all of which undoubtedly will take years to run their course, the intransigence on both sides will give way to a genuine commitment to negotiate reasonably and meaningful compromises on both sides so that a just and mutually acceptable resolution of these matters may be achieved..