3M Held Liable for Vets’ Hearing Loss in Earplug Test Trial

3M Co. and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies LLC are liable for three former service members’ hearing loss and tinnitus, and the company must pay more than $7 million in damages, a federal jury in Florida decided Friday in the first test trial in mass tort litigation over the companies’ combat earplugs.

The three plaintiffs were awarded $2.1 million each in punitive damages by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, with additional damages for medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.

The court is overseeing consolidated litigation over the ...