British veterans with hearing loss start legal battle over ‘faulty’ earplugs

Thousands of British military personnel launched legal proceedings after they were given ear protection, which they said they were incorrectly and that they were caused by altogether and deafness injuries.

The US Industrial Giant 3M provided to the Ministry of Defense (MOD) with light war headphones for education and use in active service in Afghanistan and other countries.

In 2023, the company agreed to pay $ 6 billion (£ 4.5 billion) to solve similar allegations from 240,000 US troops and women.

3M, this was not a responsibility acceptance, if the product is used properly, it works effectively and is ready to defend itself in the British courts, he said.

Former Guard Dave Watson of Worcestershire remembered that 3 million headphones have been given with the 1st Battalion Scottish guards since 2007, including the tour in Afghanistan.

“We could have been using them for up to 12 hours a day anywhere except Camp Bastion,” he says.

38 -year -old Mr. Watson lost both his legs and arm in a explosion while patrolling in Helmand in May 2010 and led to the medical discharge from the army.

Since then, he has won five medals in Invictus games and is now working for motivational speakers and charity institutions of veterans.

He said he first noticed that there was a problem at his hearing 18 months ago.

“I would wake up in my ears in the early hours of the morning, but now I’m getting it throughout the day, or he says.

“My children can’t hear me looking for me, my wife can’t hear what she’s looking for me, so it had a great impact on my family life.”

He went to tests last month and was told that he would need hearing aids in the future.

Thousands of British military personnel filed a separate legal lawsuit against 3M because they say that they were wrong ear protectors between 2003 and at least 2015 when they are replaced with a new model.

The war arms are designed to be reversible to protect against impact sounds, such as explosions, while preventing the sound of the ear plugs (version 2), most of the side, and the other allows verbal commands and other silent sounds, such as explosions.

In 2018, the company paid $ 9.1 million. Open a lawsuit imposed by the US Department of Justice This claimed that the company knew that the headphones were very short and that they could “be unceased in an inexplicable way.”

Five years later, in August 2023, He accepted an agreement of $ 6 billion (£ 4.5 billion) to solve 240,000 civilians It is brought by US military veterans and still service provider.

According to the case Information Center, it has been paid about $ 2.75 billion (£ 2 billion) to date, but 3M did not accept legal responsibility by arguing that its products were always “safe and effective” if used correctly.

This week, the first official legal request sent 3 million on behalf of more than 2,000 veterans and current military personnel in the UK.

“Yet, there was no justice and compensation for British soldiers and women, Tom said Tom Longstaff, the partner of the KP Law.

“We have very strong evidence that this product is flawed, [and] In some cases that have advanced in the United States, it suffers from a well -documented design flaw. ”

For 3M, a spokesman said the company was “respect” for the British armed forces and that he took allegations about the product seriously.

“The decision of previous cases in the US did not include any responsibility in the US, and 3M is preparing to defend himself in any case threatened in the British courts.” He said.

33-year-old Carol Timone served in the British army between 2008-2014, while in 2012 he used headphones, including Afghanistan.

Former Lance Bombardier, “a terrible whimper or pulse that will not go,” he described as the military and tinnitus time he described on one side of the hearing loss, he said.

“I have seen that the veterans failed many times, and this is another blow to them, so I feel that something should be done, and someone needs to be held really responsible, or he says.

At the beginning of this month, Conservative Deputy Neil Shastri-Hurst called on parliamentary headphones and potentially an independent investigation within the scope of hearing loss linked to other defective equipment.

Mod refused to comment on the case against 3M, but he said that a spokesman took the health of the serving personnel seriously.

“We always look at how we can reduce the noise levels in working environments [and] Provide training, protective equipment and regular hearing tests, “he said.

“Armed Forces Compensation Program [also] Injuries caused by the service provide error -free compensation to service personnel and veterans for illness and death. “