Were you or a loved one prescribed Taxotere during your cancer chemotherapy treatment? Have you experienced persistent watery eyes since your treatment? If so, you might have a serious ocular condition called canalicular stenosis.
Canalicular stenosis is a side effect of Taxotere that can result in a permanent eye condition, and sometimes requires an invasive, expensive surgery and long-term care. If you believe you may be suffering from canalicular stenosis, you may be entitled to compensation from the drug’s manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis.
While it’s normal to experience negative side effects during cancer treatment, these symptoms should stop once you cease treatment. Unfortunately, a high percentage of those prescribed Taxotere for their cancer treatment continue to suffer the side effects of having watery, teary eyes, even after they stop taking the drug. When you have canalicular stenosis, you may appear as though you are continually and unstoppably crying.
When Sanofi-Aventis marketed Taxotere, they didn’t disclose that the drug can cause these side effects, putting countless patients in danger of developing this serious eye disease. The Hawaii Taxotere lawyers of the firm Hotze Runkle PLLC are currently pursuing litigation against the manufacturer on behalf of those who suffer eye injuries like yours as a side effect of Taxotere. You can take our short, free quiz today to see if you qualify.
What Is Taxotere and What Are its Side Effects?
Taxotere is a cancer chemotherapy drug most commonly used to treat breast cancer. It has also been prescribed for lung, prostate, and head/neck cancer. It prevents the growth of cancerous cells. It is usually administered once a week via an IV drip, although doctors sometimes choose to administer it every two or three weeks, depending on your prognosis.
The side effect of epiphora (watery eyes) can appear regardless of how often you were given Taxotere. Epiphora is often caused by a serious and permanent disorder called canalicular stenosis. Canalicular stenosis is the name of the disorder, and epiphora is the name of the symptom of excessive eye-watering.
Nearly all chemotherapy treatments come with some level of unpleasant side effects, such as nausea, diarrhea, and hair loss. However, these side effects should stop once treatment stops. The development of canalicular stenosis is a major Taxotere side effect that persists after treatment ceases.
Healthy eyes produce tears all day long to keep your eyes hydrated and clear out any dust or dirt. These tears then drain back into the eye through a small tube called the canaliculus. Canalicular stenosis occurs when the canaliculus becomes obstructed or closes up entirely and prevents the tears from draining back into the eye.
When these tears cannot drain, they will overflow and give the appearance of crying. Excessive eye watering can cause:
- Vision changes/difficulty seeing
- Swelling/redness in and around the eyes
- Light sensitivity
- Feeling as though something is in your eye
- Eye pain and discomfort
These symptoms cause a high level of discomfort and can impact your daily life. Canalicular stenosis can make it difficult to drive, watch TV/read, and wear makeup. It can also make you feel embarrassed and uncomfortable in public.
How Do You Treat Canalicular Stenosis?
In the early stages of canalicular stenosis, a doctor can prescribe eye drops to help manage watery eyes, as well as using topical medicine to help with inflammation and irritation.
Unfortunately, if the canaliculus becomes completely obstructed, the only remedy is an expensive and invasive surgery. This surgery is called Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) and places a stent in your eyes through which tears can pass directly into the nasal cavity. DCR can be effective, but is not without side effects or complications, which include:
- Permanent scarring
- Bleeding
- Eye infections
- Displaced stent / your body rejecting the stent
- Tissue damage
- Blindness
If your body rejects the stent, you may require additional surgeries, as well as long term care to minimize the symptoms of canalicular stenosis.
Why Do I Need a Lawyer?
Cancer and its treatments are physically, emotionally, and financially draining for patients and their loved ones. After spending months or even years battling cancer, you do not deserve to continue to suffer as a result of a side effect that you were never informed about.
Sanofi-Aventis, Taxotere’s manufacturer, conducted clinical trials of Taxotere before it was put on the market in 1998. In these trials, they found that epiphora was indeed a side effect of the drug, but they purposefully hid that information from the Federal Drug Administration so that the drug would be authorized. The company didn’t list epiphora as a side effect until 2014, meaning that no one using the drug was aware of the side effects for 16 years.
If patients and doctors were aware of this side effect, they could have decided to use different cancer treatment drugs that were just as effective as Taxotere, without the long-term side effects.
Sanofi-Aventis profited from this deceit, which resulted in severe injury to many patients. An experienced Taxotere attorney, like those at Hotze Runkle PLLC, has the knowledge and resources to hold this manufacturer accountable for their actions and get you the compensation you deserve.
Taking on a pharmaceutical giant by yourself is an insurmountable battle, but our skilled law firm has a track record of success for taking on cases just like yours. We will thoroughly investigate your case, and hire the industry-leading experts needed to develop a strong case and testify on your behalf. We will develop an aggressive legal strategy in your favor.
In order to receive compensation, it’s critical that you have a lawyer handle communication between you and the adverse party. The drug company’s lawyers may try to get statements from you or have you answer confusing questions that are designed to make you look bad. They may try to establish that your eye injury was not a result of Taxotere.
An experienced attorney will know how to answer questions and get proper medical documentation so that you are able to receive the compensation amount you deserve.
You should never take a monetary settlement before consulting with a lawyer. Even if a settlement seems like a lot of money, a lawyer may be able to further negotiate or take legal action that helps you get an even higher amount of compensation. This compensation can help you pay for medical bills associated with your epiphora, make you more comfortable as you deal with your injury, and reduce financial stress.
Why Choose Hotze Runkle PLLC?
Hotze Runkle PLLC specializes in representing victims of Taxotere. We are a team of highly skilled attorneys with the best resources available to make your case against the powerful pharmaceutical company that manufactured Taxotere. We are representing many Taxotere patients, but also recognize that each case has important differences and must be treated as such. We provide individualized and personal attention to every Taxotere case in order to best serve you.
We are passionate about representing injury victims and standing up to powerful pharmaceutical companies. We are well versed in the technical specifics of Taxotere side effects like canalicular stenosis, meaning we know the right questions to ask and the right experts to hire. We are fully committed to getting you the justice you deserve.
Many people worry that hiring an attorney will be too expensive. At Hotze Runkle PLLC, we believe that all Taxotere victims should have access to high-quality legal representation, regardless of financial means. We especially understand the cancer treatment can be very expensive and can leave patients in financial distress.
That’s why we operate on a contingency-fee basis, which means that we take a percentage of your overall settlement at the end of your case. We won’t bill you for the number of hours we work on the case, so there will be nothing to pay until we win your case. If we don’t win, then you don’t owe us anything. This payment structure gives our clients access to the best legal representation without any financial risk.
How Much Compensation Am I Eligible For?
Your ultimate amount of compensation will depend on the unique circumstances of your case. Because the Hawaii Taxotere lawyers from Hotze Runkle PLLC are highly specialized in this legal field, they will be able to give you a good idea of the amount of compensation you can expect to receive based on your circumstances.
If you decide to pursue legal action against Taxotere’s manufacturer, you will be filing what’s called a product liability lawsuit. In this kind of lawsuit, there are two types of damages that you can claim compensation for: economic and non-economic.
Economic damages are actual expenses you incurred as a result of your injury, such as medical bills. Medical expenses may include doctor’s visits, ER/urgent care visits, specialist care, prescriptions, and surgery. Economic damages can also include any lost wages if your Taxotere-caused injury left you unable to work.
Non-economic damages are for any pain, suffering, or emotional damage caused by Taxotere. In order to make a case for non-economic damages, we recommend tracking in a journal every time your injuries/epiphora make you physically uncomfortable or make it difficult for you to live your life the way you would if you were not experiencing this ailment.
Take Our Quiz to See if You Qualify for Compensation
If you received Taxotere during your cancer chemotherapy treatment and are currently experiencing chronic watery eyes, you may be entitled to significant compensation. The manufacturer of Taxotere deliberately hid serious side effects from the FDA and endangered countless cancer patients. This pharmaceutical company needs to be held accountable.
Take our quiz today to see if you are eligible for compensation.