A North Carolina woman recently filed a lawsuit against Sanofi Aventis alleging she suffered from permanent hair loss after she underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer with the use of Taxotere. She alleges that her exposure to Taxotere directly caused the permanent hair loss and that she was not adequately warned of this risk.

The plaintiff, Latoria S., says she began undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer with the use of Taxotere on Nov. 22, 2010. This usage continued for a few months, until March 7, 2011.

Going into her chemotherapy for breast cancer, Latoria says she was aware, as most cancer patients are, that chemo drugs like Taxotere can cause hair loss. However, what Latoria says she did not know was that Taxotere was associated with more permanent hair loss.

Long after her chemotherapy for breast cancer was over, Latoria says she continues to suffer from permanent hair loss and thin hair. She has now turned to litigation against the drug’s manufacturer, Sanofi Aventis, alleging she was not adequately warned about the risk of permanent hair loss linked with the use of Taxotere during chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Latoria filed her lawsuit over chemotherapy for breast cancer on Aug. 9, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including failure to warn, negligence, fraud and deceit, and several others. Latoria’s husband Emmanuel also filed on one count of loss of consortium.

Latoria’s lawsuit is far from the first to be filed over persistent hair loss after chemotherapy for breast cancer. If you have suffered from hair loss after chemotherapy for breast cancer, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit and receive compensation.

Background of Taxotere

Taxotere (also known by its generic name, docetaxel) is a popular treatment for breast cancer manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis. Since Taxotere’s approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1996, it has become one of the more popular chemotherapy drugs available on the market today.

Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer and Permanent Hair Loss

Unfortunately, Taxotere is not without its risks. More and more patients are coming forward with allegations that Taxotere carries a higher risk of persistent hair loss after chemotherapy for breast cancer than other options, and that they were not adequately warned about this risk.

Hair loss is a common symptom associated with chemotherapy treatment—and indeed, the majority of cancer patients go into treatment aware that they will likely lose their hair. However, patients generally expect that their hair will grow back once their chemotherapy treatment is over. But a growing number of cancer patients like Latoria are finding their permanent problems with hair loss after chemotherapy to be much more lasting in nature than they ever expected.

Filing a Taxotere Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has suffered from persistent hair loss after chemotherapy for breast cancer with a docetaxel medication like Taxotere, you may be able to file or join a lawsuit.

Filing a Taxotere lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering a cancer patient endures, or take away the effects of persistent hair loss after chemo, but it can help compensate for the financial expenses incurred by cancer treatment bills or even lost wages.

The Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-07525-JTM-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.