This Dow Jones Stock Has a Huge Risk You Might Not Know About

3M (NYSE: MMM) has been making its way through a legal saga for several years now regarding earplugs it sold to the U.S. military. The saga may have taken a definitive turn for the worse this summer as evidence from a separate lawsuit regarding patent infringement is now being used to enhance soldiers' liability cases against 3M and cripple its defense.

The liabilities for 3M if it loses all these cases could easily exceed $1 billion.

3M has been fighting multiple cases involving military veterans who say they used 3M's specialized combat earplugs and now suffer varying levels of hearing loss. 3M says they aren't liable and that the earplugs are safe and effective when used properly. There are already 115,000 claims filed by veterans against 3M and another 120,000 cases will likely be added to the docket. This massive influx of claims is related to a separate courtroom battle between 3M and an earplug competitor called Moldex.

Source Fool.com