MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (KFGO/WCCO) – Twin Cities-based 3M is starting to pay over $250 million as part of a massive settlement concerning defective earplugs that left veterans and military service members with hearing loss.
The settlement came last August as 3M agreed to pay $6 billion to resolve legal claims over its Combat Arms Earplug products. The settlement, according to 3M, was not an admission of guilt as the company maintained the products are safe when used properly.
The $6 billion payment includes $5 billion in cash and $1 billion in 3M common stock between 2023 and 2029.
More than 276,000 claimants who are part of the lawsuit may opt into the settlement instead of going to trial.
The earplugs in question were used by the military from 2003 to 2025 and were made by Aearo Technologies which 3M acquired in 2008.
The August settlement came shortly after 3M reached a $10.3 billion settlement to resolve claims with a number of U.S. public water systems over claims of PFAS, or “forever chemical” water pollution.
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