As the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group deploys off Israel in the wake of the Hamas mass terror attacks, I’m reminded of the strike on the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. service members 40 years ago this month.
I was a brand-new Marine second lieutenant at The Basic School in Quantico at the time and remember the nation was shocked such a thing could happen during a “peacekeeping” mission. The military is a dangerous profession.
During my 27 years in the Marine Corps, I deployed to multiple combat zones — from Kuwait in the early 1990s to Afghanistan decades later. Like more than 5 million other veterans, my service-related injuries resulted in disability benefits from the Veterans Administration (VA). While those payments have been a blessing, they can be elusive, slow to approve and complicated to maintain.
With that in mind, I was intrigued to learn about 3M’s recent settlement of more than $6 billion dollars to veterans who suffered hearing loss while using earplugs from a subsidiary company called Aearo Technologies during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Having personally worn those dark green and yellow conical earplugs in Afghanistan, my experience was positive. And having served for decades in the Assault Amphibious Vehicle community with a loud environment just going to work, let alone plenty of time in live fire situations, I’m fortunate to never have suffered permanent hearing loss.
I know plenty of veterans who have, though. They ought to be compensated.
However, I’m concerned that many eligible veterans in this lawsuit won’t, despite the recent court ruling in their favor. That’s because the settlement terms stipulated that if fewer than 98 percent of them accept the deal within six months, it can be nullified.
My fellow veterans would be wise to accept the deal.
Even though the earplug lawsuits started out as a trickle, they’re now a flood, counting hundreds of thousands of cases consolidated through a court in Florida. It’s the biggest domestic tort case in our nation’s history.
As the numbers of litigants grow, some think the $6 billion won’t be enough and want to hold out for more. It’s a bad strategy, because if 3M is allowed to walk away from this deal, more lawsuits are inevitable and will likely stretch out for years. This will delay much-needed resources to impacted veterans and closure that many of them are searching for.
In such a case, how many veterans won’t even be alive to collect?
And what about if judges rule that their claims are invalid, as they have in other bellwether cases that have been litigated? Veterans wouldn’t get anything at all.
With the clock ticking to settlement time, there is an even greater risk to veterans than simply not getting paid. In today’s legal and financial world, some might find themselves in serious debt themselves.
Unfortunately, many companies offer loans in anticipation of lawsuit settlements, often at high interest rates. Claimants could get a loan with rates as high as 60 percent and then would be responsible for it — even if the deals fall apart. While the judge has warned against such things, how many veterans won’t get the word and will get burned?
Class-action lawsuits are wildly popular now, with Forbes citing $63 billion in settlements in 2022 alone. It’s plausible that such litigation might benefit law firms and their investors more than those who suffered a loss and filed claims. Even fast-food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Taco Bell are facing a 375 percent increase in class-action lawsuits over false advertising, staring at multimillion-dollar payouts like Dr. Pepper forked over, incredibly.
In one positive sign, the Veteran Service Organization (VSO) community is getting involved to help veterans make a more fully informed decision. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) released a statement last month titled, “3M Lawsuit Ends in Victory for Veterans” which gets it right and sees the forest through the trees.
Put another way with a time-tested adage, “it’s better to have one bird in hand than two in the bush.”
Veterans should reject those who keep digging for the chance at more money, which could jeopardize the billions already on the table. They have sacrificed too much already. It’s time to get paid and move on.
Col. Preston McLaughlin, (Ret.) USMC, served for over 27 years, including in Operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom. In retirement, he has taught in national security affairs and leadership at The Citadel, U.S. Army War College and Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service.