A woman has filed a lawsuit against the makers of Taxotere, a popular breast cancer chemotherapy drug, alleging the product caused her personal injury. Her lawsuit joins many others in the Taxotere multidistrict litigation (MDL) currently underway.

Plaintiff Kathy W. was diagnosed with Stage IIIA breast cancer in 2008. She underwent a right breast lumpectomy and began chemotherapy treatment after consulting with her oncologist. According to the lawsuit, her oncologist was not aware and had not been informed that permanent hair loss after Taxotere was a possibility with treatment.

Kathy underwent four cycles of chemotherapy treatment for her breast cancer. She did not suspect until 2016 that her permanent hair loss after Taxotere treatment was a direct result of the use of the chemotherapy drug.

Women undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer anticipate that they will lose their hair shortly after chemo starts, but expect that it will grow back after a period of time once their chemotherapy ends. It is estimated that nearly 10% of patients undergoing chemotherapy with Taxotere will experience permanent hair loss after use.

Kathy and other women who have filed lawsuits in the Taxotere multidistrict litigation say they never would have consented to using Taxotere if they had known the risk of developing permanent hair loss, or alopecia, after Taxotere. The state that they would have chosen another chemotherapy treatment that would not have caused them to develop permanent disfiguring hair loss.

Despite having conducted clinical trials related to the drug’s use and safety, the lawsuit states that these clinical trials were inadequate in fully researching all aspects of the safety profile of Taxotere.

The lawsuit states that permanent hair loss after Taxotere could have been avoided if the makers of the drug had chosen to act differently in their manufacturing and marketing of the product.

Had the manufacturers adequately provided warnings in their literature about the product, updated boxed warnings, and informed physicians and patients of the risks of permanent hair loss after Taxotere treatment, many women could have avoided this unnecessary permanently disfigurement, the lawsuit states.

One particularly concerning issue that was raised in the lawsuit states that women and their treating providers in the United States were not made aware of the possibility of permanent hair loss after Taxotere until just recently, where women in Europe and Canada were warned about the physical disfigurement risk years prior.

The plaintiff raises claims of product liability for negligence, design and manufacturing defects, failure to warn, breaches of express and implied warranties, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, negligence misrepresentation, fraud and deceit, violation of the Alabama Consumer Protection Act and it extreme and outrageous conduct/intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Kathy is seeking judgment against the defendants “in an amount to be determined at trial by the trier of fact for her injuries, harms, damages, and losses as set forth above, special damages, treble damages, costs, expert witness fees, attorneys’ fees, filing fees, pre-and post-judgment interest, all other injuries and damages as shall be proven at trial, and such for the relief as the Court may deem appropriate, just and proper.”

The Permanent Hair Loss After Taxotere Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-00160-KDE-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.