ADF 3M Combat Earplug Class Action Investigation

Combat Arms Earplugs were designed to protect ears from the loud sounds associated with military training and combat. Being two-sided, they eliminated the need to carry two different sets of earplugs, as one side was designed to block all noise. The other side was designed to block high impact noise while allowing other sounds, such as radio chatter to be heard.

The common injuries that are associated with defective Combat Arms Earplugs are: 

• A constant ringing in the ears, otherwise known as Tinnitus; 

• General hearing damage or pain which requires medical treatment;  

• Loss of balance, vertigo, postural instability or blurred vision; 

• Diagnosed total hearing loss. 

If you have suffered partial or complete hearing loss because of your work, you may be eligible to make a hearing loss compensation claim for industrial deafness. 

To find out more, please visit here.

When Governments, large companies or institutions do the wrong thing and people are harmed or suffer loss as a result, an individual can have little to no means of bringing a legal claim.

Class actions are an important mechanism within Australia’s legal system that allow large groups of people to come together to pursue a claim collectively.

For a class action to take place, there are three criteria that need to be met:

1. there must be 7 or more people that have claims against the same defendant; and

2. the claims relate to the same or similar circumstances; and

3. the claim must relate to at least one common issue of law or fact.

For more information about how class actions resolve, click here.

It can take up to several years for a class action to resolve. The time taken from case commencement through to resolution and settlement administration depends on the particular case, and the nature of the claim.

For more information about class actions and how they work, click here.

Shine Lawyers is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background or financial situation, has access to justice. We run our class actions in a way that means you are not exposed to any costs or financial risk, so joining a class action will cost you nothing.

When a class action is successful, the legal fees and costs to run the class action are deducted from the settlement amount that is approved by the Court. If the class action is unsuccessful, we will ensure there are no out-of-pocket costs to you.