A new Taxotere permanent hair loss lawsuit has joined the ongoing products liability litigation underway in Louisiana federal court under U.S. District Judge Englehart and Magistrate Judge North.

The multidistrict litigation currently names Sanofi-Aventis and its related companies as defendants in litigation. There have been so many lawsuits filed against the manufacturer of Taxotere that a multidistrict litigation was established to streamline the legal process.

A multidistrict litigation, or MDL, allows for the pretrial discovery process to be consolidated and conserves time, money and resources for all parties involved. As of the most recent report issued by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation posted on April 17, 2017, there have been 960 Taxotere permanent hair loss lawsuits filed.

Plaintiff Elizabeth T. alleges that the Taxotere chemotherapy drug to treat her breast cancer that was used beginning in November 2009 and ending in June 2010 led to her developing permanent hair loss, also known as permanent alopecia.

Taxotere (docetaxel) is an intravenous chemotherapy drug popularly used to treat breast cancer, but it is also approved to treat other cancers as well.

Women headed into breast cancer treatment understand that they are likely to lose their hair, but anticipate it will slowly start to grow back within several months of completing the treatment. However, with many women who used Taxotere, the hair loss is permanent and does not grow back at all. This does not only include hair on the scalp but potentially includes all body hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes.

According to the Taxotere permanent hair loss lawsuit, “Permanent baldness (permanent alopecia) is a disfiguring condition, especially for women. Women who experienced disfiguring permanent alopecia as a result of these Taxotere suffer great mental anguish as well as economic damages, including, but not limited to, loss of work or inability to work due to significant psychological damage.”

The Taxotere lawsuit states that other, safer alternatives to Taxotere were available to these women that did not include a risk of permanent hair loss. It also states that the manufacturers of Taxotere knew of the possibility of permanent hair loss but failed to warn patients in the United States. The manufacturers did, however, warn Canadian and European residents within the last few years.

Women who go on to file their own Taxotere permanent hair loss lawsuit uniformly state that had they known of the risks of developing alopecia prior to undergoing treatment with Taxotere, they never would have chosen to undergo therapy with that drug.

Elizabeth brings forth eight counts against the defendants including strict products liability for failure to warn and for misrepresentation, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, fraud and deceit, and breach of express warranty.

She is seeking a jury trial for her Taxotere permanent hair loss lawsuit and requesting compensation for her injuries including special damages, treble damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, pre-and post-judgment interest and any additional relief as deemed just and proper by the court.

The Taxotere Permanent Hair Loss Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-03852-KDE-MBN, and is filed in the Taxotere MDL, In re: Taxotere (docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2740, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.