Sanofi-Aventis LLC, the manufacturer of the chemotherapy drug known as Taxotere (docetaxel), faces a recent chemo hair losslawsuit filed by a woman who claims that she was never warned that the drug could cause permanent hair loss, also known as permanent alopecia.

Plaintiff Phyllis H. filed the chemo hair loss lawsuit in Louisiana federal court joining growing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against the company. The lawsuit was filed on April 23, 2018.

According to the chemo hair loss lawsuit, Phyllis is a current resident of the state of Ohio. She says that she began using Taxotere in approximately April 2011 and terminated its treatment in June 2011. Phyllis says that her alleged injury was her suffering from permanent and irreversible disfiguring alopecia, which allegedly started soon after she began treatment with Taxotere.

The chemo hair loss lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including failure to warn, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and fraud and deceit.

Overview: Chemo Hair Loss

Phyllis’ claim is filed as part of a large MDL centered on allegations that Taxotere causes permanent alopecia or permanent and disfiguring hair loss, an alleged side effect that many patients say they were not properly warned about.

Accusations against Sanofi claim that the company should have known or did in fact know of the permanent hair loss side effects that come about following Taxotere’s use, but of failing to make that information public and properly warning of the side effects.

Thousands of women have filed chemo hair loss lawsuits much like the one filed by Phyllis. Chemo patients who may be eligible to file a chemo hair loss lawsuit include those who were administered Taxotere as part of a chemotherapy treatment plan and who later developed permanent hair loss or permanent alopecia.

By filing a chemo hair loss lawsuit, patients can seek compensation of a range of Taxotere-related losses such as:

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

Accusations against Sanofi claim the company sold an inherently unsafe, defective, and dangerous medication. Other accusations say the company negligently designed and manufactured Taxotere, thereby causing severe adverse side effects including permanent hair loss.

The plaintiff also alleges that while warnings were included with Taxotere’s labels in Europe and Canada of permanent hair loss side effects associated with Taxotere, no such warnings were available to consumers in the U.S. until 2015–nearly 20 years after the drug’s introduction to the market.

The Chemo Hair Loss Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-04152-KDE-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Taxotere MDL is in re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2740, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.