3M Co.’s $6 billion settlement of lawsuits accusing the company of selling defective combat earplugs to the U.S. military could fall apart if enough veterans reject the deal as inadequate for their injuries, Bloomberg News reported. Given 250,000 or so active claims of hearing loss 3M has identified, the accord works out to about $24,000 a head, and would be even less after court costs and legal fees. That may not be enough to make up for the life-altering injuries service members say they suffered after the earplugs failed to protect them from the roar of heavy artillery and tanks. 3M itself can walk away from the pact if it doesn’t get the support of at least 98% of claimants eligible for compensation. But that would force the company back to the negotiating table and leave it facing hundreds of thousands of lawsuits and a formidable array of jury trials — the very outcome it sought to avoid by striking the deal. Under the terms of the settlement, which Bloomberg reported Sunday and 3M announced Tuesday, the plaintiffs will have about six months to decide whether to accept a payout under the accord, opt out of the deal to demand a trial, or drop their suit, according to court filings. The lawsuits have been consolidated in a multi-district litigation case in federal court in Pensacola, Florida — one of the biggest MDLs in U.S. history.
