Federal Judge Dismisses Potential Bellwether Taxotere Hair Loss Case as Untimely

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge has dismissed a potential Taxotere (docetaxel) bellwether case with prejudice, ruling that the claims are time-barred because the plaintiff waited more than a year before filing suit after learning of a possible connection between the chemotherapy drug and her permanent hair loss.

In a July 17 order, Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana found the doctrine of contra non valentem did not toll the prescriptive period because there is no evidence that the defendant drug maker prevented her from discovering the alleged cause of …