3M Agrees To Pay More Than $5.5 Bln To Settle Lawsuits Over Defective Military Earplugs : Reports

(RTTNews) - 3M Co. (MMM) has agreed to pay more than $5.5 billion to settle over 300,000 lawsuits claiming it sold the US military defective combat earplugs, according to several media reports.

Under the settlement, 3M is expected to pay out the money over five years. 3M's board still needs to sign off on the agreement, the reports said, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the reports, thousands of veterans sued 3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies, claiming that its foam earplugs were defective and didn't protect them from damages to their hearing. 3M argued the earplugs worked properly when soldiers were trained on how to use them.