Crucially, Muckelbauer notes, the VA says participating in the lawsuit will not result in the loss of health or disability benefits, nor will it adversely affect disability ratings. VA facilities are also barred from recovering any portion of a plaintiff’s award as part of a medical lien.
3M has not admitted responsibility in this settlement either, frustrating the veteran claimants. An admission of guilt was never on the table, says Ronald Miller, Jr., writing for the Lawsuit Information Center , which posts updates on class action lawsuits. “Admitting responsibility would open the door for everyone to opt out and move forward on that admission… Admitting guilt would also be harmful to 3M’s reputation. They have long vigorously denied responsibility, so the optics would be terrible.”
A new twist cropped up almost immediately when claimants began getting cold calls from scammers impersonating employees of Archer Systems LLC, the company designated to administer the settlement. The scammers attempted to extract sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers. Judge M. Casey Rodgers alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and warned claimants to safeguard their data vigilantly and report any fraudulent attempts.
The settlement money will be paid out from 2023 to 2029, with $1 billion in the form of 3M stock, 3M said in a statement. (In August 2023, upon news of the settlement, the price of 3M shares had risen nearly 5%.) Miller says the whole $6 billion will be distributed using a point system that awards amounts according to disability, with, for instance, tinnitus without contemporaneous corroboration getting the least and moderate or greater hearing loss getting the most. “This settlement is a tremendous outcome for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who put their lives on the line for our freedom,” said Duane Sarmiento, VFW national commander in a statement. “For those who came home with hearing damage due to 3M’s faulty earplugs, this is not only compensation, it’s a statement that their sacrifices won’t be ignored.”