A Louisiana jury rejected a cancer patient’s claim that the chemotherapy drug Taxotere® used in her treatment for breast cancer had caused her to suffer from disfiguring permanent hair loss.
The jury ruled that the patient failed to prove by a preponderance of evidence that the chemotherapy drug was the reason for her permanent hair loss, and entered judgment in favor of the drug manufacturer.
This was the first bellwether trial of a multidistrict litigation against drug manufacturers amidst claims that certain chemotherapy drugs caused patients to loose their hair permanently. In her complaint, the patient alleged that the drugmaker withheld important information regarding the risk of hair loss and failed to conduct proper investigations into this side-effect .