A Washington breast cancer patient recently filed a lawsuit after being treated with Taxotere, alleging she now suffers from permanent alopecia from chemotherapy with the drug.

This lawsuit adds to the ever-growing litigation over Taxotere. This and other claims like it target Sanofi Aventis, the manufacturer of Taxotere.

The plaintiff, Margaret W., used Taxotere as part of her chemotherapy treatment for cancer from November 2007 and continued for several weeks, through February of the next year.

Most patients going into chemotherapy understand that hair loss is a risk of the treatment. This is true of Taxotere as well. However, Margaret’s lawsuit alleges, she suffered from permanent alopecia from chemotherapy—meaning that her hair never grew back properly, even after chemotherapy treatment was over. Patients generally expect that their hair will begin to grow back after chemo, but Margaret’s permanent alopecia from chemotherapy meant that she was unable to grow her hair at all.

According to the Taxotere lawsuit, this is a permanent disfigurement that only adds to the mental anguish of the cancer diagnosis itself.

Because of her permanent alopecia from chemotherapy, Margaret decided to pursue litigation against Sanofi Aventis. Margaret’s permanent alopecia lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including failure to warn, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment, breach of express warranty, and fraud and deceit, among others.

Margaret filed her lawsuit in November 2017, around ten years after her treatment with Taxotere was over—and her permanent alopecia from chemotherapy persists to this day.

Taxotere Basics

Taxotere (also sold under its generic name, docetaxel) is a widely used chemotherapy drug manufactured by Sanofi Aventis.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first gave its approval to Taxotere as a chemotherapy drug back in 1996, and remains a popular option today. Unfortunately, Taxotere is becoming increasingly linked with patients suffering from permanent alopecia from chemotherapy.

Permanent Alopecia from Chemotherapy Treatment

Alopecia, more commonly known as hair loss, is one of the more well-known effects of chemotherapy treatment for cancer. But these effects are not meant to be permanent—after chemo is over, patients usually begin to grow back their hair. More and more Taxotere patients, however, are reporting being unable to grow their hair back, and are left with permanent alopecia from chemotherapy. Some are unable to grow their hair back at all, and others have great difficulty growing their hair back, able to grow only in clumps or patches.

Filing a Lawsuit Over Permanent Alopecia from Chemotherapy

If you or someone you love has suffered from permanent alopecia from chemotherapy with Taxotere or another docetaxel medication, you may be able to gain some kind of financial compensation by joining a Taxotere lawsuit.

Filing a Taxotere lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering a cancer patient endures, or take away the effects of permanent alopecia from chemotherapy, but it can help compensate for the financial expenses incurred by cancer treatment bills or even lost wages.

The Permanent Alopecia from Chemotherapy Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-11938-KDE-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.