Taxotere Litigation Update: Federal Court Overseeing Permanent Alopecia Lawsuits Establishes Deadlines for Filing of Master and Short Form Complaints, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports

NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The federal court overseeing hundreds of Taxotere lawsuits involving the chemotherapy drug's alleged propensity to cause permanent alopecia has directed plaintiffs' counsel to submit a Master Complaint and Short Form Complaint to the Court on or before March 31, 2017. Per an Order issued in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana on February 10^th, plaintiffs filing Taxotere lawsuits in the proceeding on or after April 1, 2017 are to do so via the Short Form Complaint.  Those with cases filed in the litigation as of April 1^st may file a Short Form Complaint with the Court as an amended complaint by May 31, 2017. (In Re: Taxotere (Docetaxal) Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2740)

"The Master Complaint will include all allegations common to Taxotere lawsuits, while the individual Short Form Complaints will set forth certain claims from the Master Complaint as they relate to individual plaintiffs. Adoption of the Master and Short Form Complaints will promote judicial efficiency and streamline the process for filing cases in the federal multidistrict litigation," says Sandy A. Liebhard, a partner at Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective medical devices and drugs. The Firm is now offering free case reviews to breast cancer patients and others whose hair failed to grow back following chemotherapy with Taxotere.

More than 800 Taxotere Lawsuits Pending in Federal Litigation

Court documents indicate that at least 837 Taxotere lawsuits are currently pending in the Eastern District of Louisiana, where all federally-filed cases that put forth allegations of permanent hair loss are undergoing coordinated pretrial proceedings. Taxotere was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 1996 to treat breast cancer. Its approved indications have since been expanded to include head and neck cancer, gastric cancer, prostate cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

While hair loss is a common chemotherapy side effect, Taxotere lawsuit plaintiffs claim that the medication is more likely to cause permanent hair loss than other, equally effective agents. Their complaints assert that by the late 1990s, Sanofi-Aventis was aware of research suggesting that 9.2 percent of Taxotere patients experienced alopecia for up to 10 years or longer. In 2006, a Denver-based oncologist had observed that an increased percentage of his Taxotere patients suffered from permanent hair loss for years after discontinuing the drug. However, it wasn't until December 2015 that Taxotere's U.S. labeling was updated to note that the drug had been associated with reports of permanent alopecia.

Compensation may be available for Taxotere patients who experienced persistent, permanent alopecia, following their cancer treatment.  To learn more about filing a Taxotere lawsuit, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP's website, or call 800-511-5092 to arrange for a free, no obligation case review.

About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993. As a national law firm, Bernstein Liebhard LLP possesses all of the legal and financial resources required to successfully challenge billion dollar pharmaceutical and medical device companies. As a result, our attorneys and legal staff have been able to recover more than $3.5 billion on behalf of our clients. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is honored to once again be named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List," recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country. This year's nomination marks the thirteenth year the firm has been named to this prestigious annual list.

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Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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