Our Blogs

We are currently investigating claims of permanent hair loss following the use of Taxotere, a chemotherapy drug. Taxotere is one of the most widely used drugs for breast cancer in the United States. For more information on the drug, you can read a detailed report on the Blackwell Law Firm website.

While cancer patients may expect temporary hair loss during chemotherapy treatment, they also expect their hair to regrow once treatment ends. For many patients, hair regrowth is a visible sign of victory over the disease. And, if hair regrowth does not occur, the physical and emotional impacts can be devastating.

Although expected to be temporary, many patients treated by Taxotere suffer permanent hair loss. These women had alternatives to Taxotere treatment. Other drugs provide similar success results. Yet, those other drugs do not leave many patients with permanent alopecia or baldness. For years, Taxotere’s manufacturer failed to warn doctors or patients in the United States of this harm. Patients had no knowledge of the risk and could not make an informed choice between available drugs. Although the manufacturer failed to warn patients, it knew the significant risk of injury. And, it continued to profit from sales to unsuspecting patients.

In late 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made Taxotere’s manufacturer update its warning label to inform doctors and patients of the risk of permanent hair loss. That’s too late for the many women who now suffer permanent personal injury from the drug. That’s too late for the many women who could have chosen an alternative drug without this risk of harm. The report on our firm website contains quotes from women patients who would have chosen another treatment if the drug maker Sanofi had revealed the truth about Taxotere.

Patients with permanent hair loss have begun filing personal injury lawsuits against the drug’s maker Sanofi. A growing number of claims have been filed in Federal Courts across the United States. And, the number of cases is expected to increase.

Will the growing number of Taxotere lawsuits be consolidated for discovery? When numerous cases are filed in Federal Courts across the United States involving the same product defect claims, they are often consolidated before a single judge in a MDL (Multidistrict Litigation). The assigned judge can then oversee the pre-trial proceedings such as discovery. On July 22, 2016, a group of injured plaintiffs filed a motion before the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation asking the panel to consolidate the growing number of Taxotere cases. This group of women suffering the effects of Taxotere asked the panel to consolidate the cases before a Judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana. We will be closely following the proceedings. Based on experience with large-scale litigation, the Eastern District of Louisiana may be a good choice. The judges in that district have handled other mass tort cases including the BP oil spill litigation, Vioxx litigation and Chinese drywall litigation. We hope this case will develop quickly for the injured women seeking justice.