A New York woman has filed a permanent alopecia lawsuit against drug maker, Sanofi Aventis, claiming that their chemotherapy drug Taxotere is the cause behind her permanent hair loss.

Plaintiff Elaine P. of New York was administered Taxotere as a part of her chemotherapy regimen from Aug. 20, 2014 until Oct. 22, 2014. As a result, she alleges she has experienced permanent and disfiguring hair loss, leading to her permanent alopecia lawsuit.

Most patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer expect to lose their hair. Chemotherapy targets the quickly growing cells in the body. Cancer is a quickly growing cell which is why chemotherapy works to combat them.

However, chemotherapy also attacks other quickly growing cells, such as the hair follicle. This is thought to be the reason why chemotherapy patients lose their hair.

In nearly all cases, when chemotherapy stops, a patient hair begins to regrow. But Taxotere patients tell a different story.

The plaintiff in this permanent alopecia lawsuit claims that she suffered from “permanent alopecia in the scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes.” She also claims that she has experienced severe and personal injuries that are also permanent.

This permanent alopecia lawsuit claims that Elaine has suffered “economic and non-economic damages, harms and losses including but not limited to: past and future medical expenses; psychological counseling; therapy expenses; past and future loss of earnings; past and future loss and impairment of earning capacity; mental anguish; severe and debilitating emotional distress; increased risk of future harm; past, present and future loss and impairment of the quality and enjoyment of life.”

In her permanent alopecia lawsuit, Elaine is holding Sanofi Aventis responsible for many counts including failure to warn, misrepresentation, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, fraud and deceit and breach of express warranty.

Taxotere Overview

Taxotere, generically known as docetaxel, has been in used since 1996 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved it for use as a cancer treatment.

Many Taxotere patients suffer from breast cancer. Taxotere is also used with patients who have lung cancer, prostate cancer, head cancer and neck cancer.

Over the years, many patients have complained that with Taxotere use their hair did not regrow. In fact, by some reports, up to 10% of Taxotere patients have suffered from a permanent and disfiguring hair loss. By 2015, the FDA required the drug makers to change the label on the drug to include the possibility of permanent alopecia with Taxotere treatment.

Elaine’s permanent alopecia lawsuit will join the growing multidistrict litigation (MDL) already in place against Sanofi Aventis regarding Taxtore.

The MDL makes many allegations against the drug manufacturers about the safety, testing and marketing of Taxotere. For example, the MDL claims that Sanofi Aventis promoted the “superior efficacy” of Taxotere even after they had received information regarding studies that showed data to the contrary.

Because of these false and misleading claims made by Sanofi Aventis, the FDA warned the company and cited the contrary studies.

Other allegations include fraudulent marketing schemes, the paying of kickbacks and providing other unlawful incentives to convince doctors to use Taxotere, as well as a large-scale cover-up of important information regarding the connection between permanent hair loss and Taxotere use.

This Permanent Alopecia Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-06170-KDE-MBN in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.