A couple has filed a Taxotere chemotherapy hair loss lawsuit against the manufacturers of Taxotere alleging the drug caused the wife to develop permanent hair loss side effects that she says she was never warned about.

Plaintiffs Elizabeth K. and Kevin K. have filed the Taxotere chemotherapy hair loss lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Sanofi Aventis U.S. Inc. faces the complaint along with several other named defendants.

According to the Taxotere chemotherapy hair loss lawsuit, Elizabeth is a breast cancer survivor. She was prescribed Taxotere, a chemotherapy drug developed and manufactured by Sanofi Aventis.

However, she says that as a direct result of taking Taxotere she suffered permanent hair loss side effects without any warning. She also says she suffered permanent physical and emotional injuries because of Taxotere.

Aventis is being accused of having misleadingly promoted Taxotere as a superior medication.

“Although lower potency alternatives have been available for years, Defendants misleadingly promoted Taxotere as having superior efficacy based on self-sponsored clinical trials, even though the FDA called these claims ‘unsubstantiated,’” the lawsuit states.

“In fact, Taxotere’s increased potency only makes it more toxic than alternatives and causes more severe side effects, including a significantly increased risk of disfiguring permanent hair loss.”

Elizabeth is a citizen and resident of Irvine, Calif.

The Taxotere chemotherapy hair loss lawsuit has been filed citing multiple counts including negligence, failure to warn, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, strict liability- misrepresentation, fraud and deceit, intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium.

Overview: Taxotere Chemotherapy Hair Loss

Taxotere lawsuits filed against the drug’s manufacturer, Sanofi Aventis, allege that Taxotere causes permanent and disfiguring hair loss, a side effect that patients accuse the manufacturers of failing to warn them about.

Allegations against the company state that they either knew or should have known about Taxotere permanent hair loss side effects. They claim that while permanent hair loss side effects of Taxotere were warned about in Europe and Canada, no such warnings were made to consumers in the U.S. until 2015.

Taxotere was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2004. Warnings of permanent hair loss side effects were not made for nearly 20 years after the drug’s introduction to the market.

Many studies have been conducted linking permanent hair loss side effects to Taxotere, with one significant study conducted by a team of researchers in 2006. The study that was conducted by a team in the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers of Denver discovered that in patients taking Taxotere, 6.3% of patients grew back less than 50% of their hair.

According to the study, “when docetaxel is administered… there is a small but significant possibility of poor hair regrowth lasting up to 7 years.”

Filing a Taxotere chemotherapy hair loss lawsuit can provide compensation for a wide range of losses. Some of these may include the following:

• Mental anguish
• Emotional distress
• Diminished quality of life
• Permanent disfigurement
• Loss of earnings and lost earning potential

The Taxotere Chemotherapy Hair Loss Lawsuit is Case No. 8:18-cv-00478-CJC-JPR, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.