Taxotere Eye Injury Lawsuit

Taxotere is a strong chemotherapy drug which aims to slow cell growth, and has been widely used by cancer patients for decades to mitigate the spread of their disease.

Taxotere chemotherapy treatment is produced by Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical company.

Chemotherapy treatment and cytotoxic drugs like Taxotere combat cancerous cells by over-stabilizing their structure.

Using this method, cancer cells are prevented from breaking down and reproducing.

Patients with breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and other serious cancers rely on chemotherapy drugs, such as Taxotere treatment regimens, to combat their disease.

How is Taxotere Administered?

Taxotere is taken through injections (intravenously).

These treatments are touted as being more effective and capable of successfully treating cancer with fewer rounds of chemotherapy in less time.

Taxotere treatments generally take about an hour and people generally receive Taxotere every 3 to 4 weeks.

Who is Prescribed Medication like Taxotere?

Taxotere and related chemotherapy treatments have been primarily prescribed to breast cancer patients, specifically metastatic breast cancer.

Taxotere is used by cancer patients suffering from:

• Breast cancer
• Metastatic breast cancer
• Lung cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Neck cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Skin cancer and squamous cell carcinoma

New reports show Taxotere could cause eye injuries and vision damage to users.

Taxotere Vision Damage Lawsuits allege that Sanofi, the pharmaceutical company who manufactures the chemotherapy drug, failed to provide an adequate warning for eye injury and excessive tearing.

The lawsuit claims that Taxotere use may result in excessive tearing, watery eyes, lacrimal duct obstruction, and potentially permanent damage to eyesight.

Sanofi has denied knowing about the risks of vision loss or permanent watery eyes.

Taxotere Eye Injury

Taxotere impacts the lacrimal system, the bodily system that includes tear ducts and the structures responsible for tear production and drainage.

Taxotere enters into the tear film, and build-up of the drug may lead to scarring of the lacrimal system and permanent occlusion (blockage).

If left untreated, affected individuals might not be able to drain tears naturally, leading to the excessive tearing, “Epiphora”, watery eyes, other health effects, and the potential need for corrective surgery.

Multiple eye injuries can result from prolonged Taxotere use, experts say.

Taxotere eye injuries include:

• Canalicular stenosis
• Punctal stenosis
• Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction
• Excessive tearing or eye-watering (epiphora)
• Permanent watery eyes
• Conjunctivitis or blockage of the tear ducts/lacrimal system
• Scarring of lacrimal system
• Blurred vision
• Swollen eyelids
• Eye infections and irritations
• Increased sensitivity to light
• Headaches
• Potential loss of vision (cystoid macular edema)

These symptoms and/or side effects can heavily affect the daily activities of patients, hampering abilities such as driving, reading, and any vision related task one may perform at a job.

Taxotere’s side effects can severely impact an individual’s quality of life.

Canalicular Stenosis and Punctal Stenosis

Tear film ensures hydration and washes away dust and particles in the eyes.

Tears then travel through small canals, called the Canaliculus, into the nasolacrimal duct.

Canalicular Stenosis is obstruction of the Canaliculus, which prevents tears from flowing through the lacrimal system and forces them to well up in the eyes and cause excessive tearing and eye watering.

Punctal Stenosis refers to obstruction of the punctum: small openings located in the upper and lower eyelids that connect to the canaliculus.

Stenosis onsets quickly, but is preventable with early intervention.

Stenosis is more common in breast cancer patients taking Taxotere in weekly regimens than regimens that are every three weeks.

Through scientific studies, Taxotere was found to be secreted into patients’ tear film.

Taxotere damages the canaliculus through fibrosis or scarring, and leads to the aforementioned eye disorders.

Corrective Surgeries for Canalicular Stenosis and Punctal Stenosis

Canalicular Stenosis and Punctal Stenosis caused by Taxotere can necessitate serious surgical operations.

A clinical study conducted at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) involved ten metastatic breast cancer patients with canalicular stenosis and epiphora caused by docetaxel.

All ten patients underwent either of the following surgeries to correct their condition:

• Bicanalicular silicone intubation:  Dilation or maintenance of canaliculi by probing or using stents. (seven patients)
• Canaliculo Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) with the Placement of a Silicone Tube (one patient) or Conjuctivo DCR with the Placement of a Glass Tube (two patients):  Creation of a new passage for tear drainage by inserting bypass tubes. Can be completed through an external minimally invasive surgical procedure or an endoscopically (through the nose).

Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction

Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction refers to the same sort of scarring and occlusion as is experienced with Canalicular Stenosis, but in the deeper ducts and canals of the lacrimal system.

The lacrimal system is the base for dealing with tear production and drainage.

This condition can cause severe eye injuries and vision issues.

Permanent Stenosis

Canalicular Stenosis and Punctal Stenosis can become irreversible.

As breast cancer patients are often overwhelmed with other health issues and side effects related to their recovery, they may not pay as close attention to excessively watery eyes.

If Canalicular Stenosis or Punctal Stenosis is left untreated, the ailment can become permanent.

Given the speed at which these conditions worsen, time is of the essence in keeping yourself safe and managing your condition.

Epiphora

Epiphora is excessive tearing or watery eyes.

Scarring or fibrosis of tear ducts and the canaliculus can cause tears to well-up, remain on the eye, and run down the face.

Chronic watery eyes are bothersome to patients and can lead to further eye injuries.

Misdiagnosis of Taxotere Eye Injuries

As a person is recovering from cancer and going through chemotherapy, it can be difficult to pinpoint the causes of certain side effects.

One may think that persistent watery eyes are caused by allergies or immune system deficiencies.

Eye injuries and disorders resulting from Taxotere use are often misdiagnosed by doctors and opthamologists as allergies, minor eye conditions, or symptoms of other ailments.

It’s important to contact a lacrimal specialist or an ocular plastic surgeon, a doctor who focuses on the tear duct system, as soon as possible if you notice excessively watery eyes after Taxotere doses.

If you or a loved one suffered permanent vision damage, eye injury, or excessive tearing caused by Taxotere, you may be eligible for a lawsuit.

The Taxotere lawsuit alleges that Sanofi failed to provide adequate warning of side effects.

Start your process by mitigating injuries, gathering evidence, assessing damages, and hiring a Taxotere lawyer.

Mitigation

Seeking immediate treatment for your injuries and ensuring timely intervention to further mitigate any injuries should be your first course of action.

If you fail to properly take care of your injuries, your chances at an adequate settlement fall drastically.

As mentioned previously, contacting a lacrimal specialist or an ocular plastic surgeon to diagnose your injuries is the best course of action.

Your legal team can help with this process if necessary.

Gathering Evidence in a Taxotere Lawsuit

You should also work to gather any and all evidence relevant to your Taxotere Eye Injury Lawsuit.

Relevant evidence in a Taxotere lawsuit may include:

• Medical records on your cancer diagnosis
• Medical records detailing excessive tearing, vision loss symptoms, etc.
• Records indicating chemotherapy drugs and treatment plans
• Records indicating Taxotere use, prescription, dosage levels, regimen, etc.
• Any documents relating to visits with optometrists or opthamologists

Assessing Damages in a Taxotere Lawsuit

Damages are the total losses incurred as a result of an injury or accident.

In a Taxotere lawsuit, damages may include:

• Medical costs and bills
• Pain and suffering, mental health effects
• Lost wages or income
• Corrective surgery cost
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Permanent disability

Hiring a Lawyer for your Taxotere Lawsuit

Deciding which law firm is right for your Taxotere lawsuit is an important choice.

It’s important to familiarize yourself with how personal injury lawyers do their job and deal with Taxotere lawsuits.

A law firm that promotes a positive and inclusive attorney client relationship will understand that people filing these lawsuits are overcoming cancer or are breast cancer survivors, and are now facing potentially life-changing vision loss and vision problems.

Issues such as these are not taken lightly by experienced and involved lawyers.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has consolidated Taxotere cases into multidistrict litigation (MDL 3023), centralized in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The Taxotere litigation will be handled by Judge Jane Triche Milazzo.

This multidistrict litigation (MDL) is different than the MDL for Taxotere hair-loss lawsuits (MDL 2740), which is also centralized in the same district court.

This Taxotere litigation includes only vision loss and eye injury lawsuits.

Current Status of the Taxotere Lawsuit

Both the Taxotere Eye Injury Lawsuit and the Taxotere Hair-Loss Lawsuit are moving forward in multidistrict litgation.

Both MDLs are located in the U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana.

In March 2022, a new study from researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa found that Taxane based chemotherapy drugs elevate the risk for eye issues such as epiphora (chronic watery eyes), optic neuropathy and a less precise increase in risk for cystoid macular edema.

Like many chemotherapy medications, Taxotere can lead to hair loss, but unlike other such drugs, hair loss of a potentially permanent nature has been associated with Taxotere.

The absence of new growth after six months to a year points to permanent hair loss.

Sanofi added permanent hair loss as a side effect on its FDA approved label in 2015.

The update to their warning label was overdue: the company knew since the 1990s that cancer patients taking Taxotere had an increased risk of hair-related ailments like Alopecia.

Sanofi did not adequately warn patients of hair-loss side effects, prompting lawsuits.

Taxotere Lawsuit for Hair-Loss

There have been over 12,000 Taxotere lawsuits filed and consolidated in the Taxotere Hair-Loss MDL.

Claims filed allege that although many patients who undergo chemotherapy as a cancer treatment experience hair loss, Taxotere-related alopecia is far more likely to result in permanent hair loss than other equally effective chemotherapy medications.

The Taxotere complaints further allege that:

• The defendant, Sanofi-Aventis, engaged in a pattern of deception by overstating the benefits of Taxotere as compared to other alternatives while simultaneously failing to warn of the risk of permanent alopecia.
• Plaintiffs were not presented with a chance to make an informed choice as to whether the benefits of Taxotere outweighed its associated risks.
• As a direct result of the manufacturer’s actions, the plaintiffs suffered serious injury, harm, mental anguish, damages, economic and non-economic loss and will continue to suffer such harm, damages, and losses in the future.

Plaintiffs claim that if they had known about this side effect, they would have opted for the less potent but equally effective chemotherapy drug Taxol, which has not been linked to permanent hair loss.

The plaintiffs in these lawsuits allege that Taxotere maker Sanofi-Aventis was aware of decades-old research suggesting that 9.2 percent of Taxotere patients experienced persistent hair loss for up to 10 years or longer, yet failed to warn doctors and consumers, and also claim that the company illegally promoted the use of the drug for patients with early-stage breast cancer.