A Taxotere lawsuit joins a multidistrict litigation claiming the chemotherapy drug causes permanent breast cancer drug side effects, as opposed to temporary hair loss as warned.

In her Taxotere lawsuit, plaintiff Terri M. aims to hold Sanofi-Aventis accountable for the permanent hair loss she claims was caused by her use of the company’s chemotherapy drug, Taxotere.

Terri claims she used the drug between May 12, 2016 and July 18, 2016 as part of her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. She adds her lawsuit to a growing multidistrict litigation claiming that the Sanofi-Aventis failed to warn consumers that Taxotere breast cancer drug side effects could include permanent hair loss.

Terri claims that she was warned that the drug could cause temporary hair loss, a side effect common to many chemotherapy drugs. She claims that her fair fell out after she started taking Taxotere, and did not grow back to its pre-chemotherapy level and quality after she stopped taking the drug, as would normally be the case with most chemotherapy drugs. She claims she experienced “significant hair loss” as a result of her use of the drug.

She claims that Sanofi-Aventis field to warn consumers of the risk of this serious side effect. Additionally, she claims that the company was negligent in not warning consumers, and negligently and fraudulently misrepresented Taxotere as a safe and effective medication compared to other chemotherapy drugs. She raises claims for fraudulent concealment and fraud in her Taxotere hair loss lawsuit.

Taxotere is a common chemotherapy drug used by patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Taxotere is one of a number of chemotherapy drugs of the same type made by Sanofi-Aventis — related drug products include Docefrez, Docetaxel Injection Concentrate, and Doxetaxel Injection.

Terri and other consumers in the Taxotere multi-district litigation claim that Sanofi-Aventis intentionally did not warn patients or medical professionals of the risk of permanent hair loss when taking the drug.

Allegedly, Sanofi-Aventis has known for years that these drugs cause permanent hair loss, as multiple patient reports, studies, and articles have been published on the subject. Patients say it was not until 2015, upon prompting by the Food and Drug Administration, that the company released consumers warnings that permanent hair loss was among the breast cancer side effects.

Many patients claim that had they known of the association between Taxotere and permanent hair loss, they would not have taken the drug, and would have instead elected to undergo different treatment for their breast cancer.

The patients claim that they were physically, emotionally, and financially injured by the breast cancer drug side effects. The patients claim that permanent hair loss has caused them to “struggle to return to normalcy, even after surviving cancer because an integral element of their identities, their hair, never returned.” They cite emotional trauma and the permanent change to their bodies as part of the emotional injury suffered.

The Taxotere Breast Cancer Drug Side Effects MDL is Case No. 2:16-md-02740-KDE-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.