Hair Relaxer Class Action Moving Forward After Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss
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A judge has denied a motion to dismiss a class action suit against the makers of some hair relaxer products, setting the stage for the lawsuit to move forward.
Judge Mary Rowland, overseeing the over 8,000 hair relaxer lawsuits pending in multidistrict litigation, did dismiss some components of the class action. However, she allowed most of it to proceed.
According to court documents that were filed on Sep. 27, plaintiffs are suing the makers of hair relaxers that studies have connected to the development of cancer. The documents claim the plaintiffs suffered economic injury by paying for products they would not have purchased if they knew of the health risks.
Some plaintiffs also voiced concern over the risk of future health problems they may develop from using the hair relaxers.
“A subset of Plaintiffs also aver that they are further injured because they are at a significantly increased risk of developing uterine and ovarian cancer due to frequent exposure to defective hair relaxer products,” the documents stated. “Thus, these Plaintiffs have a need to incur costs of medical monitoring to aid the early detection and treatment of cancer.”
According to Reuters, economic damages would apply to any customer who purchased one of the named products in the U.S. These include several brands such as Strength of Nature, Soft & Beautiful, Motions, TCB Naturals, Just for Me, Namaste, Dark and Lovely, Olive Oil Girls, L’Oreal and Optimum.
Uterine Cancer, Other Health Concerns at Root of Hair Relaxer Lawsuits
The significant litigation currently pending against popular brands like L’Oréal stems from a 2022 National Institute of Health study that raised the alarm about the safety of commonly used hair relaxers.
The study uncovered evidence that the products may be linked to the development of uterine cancer, with findings showing that women who use hair relaxers four times or more a year have nearly double the risk of developing uterine cancer.
Uterine cancer is generally very serious. According to Cleveland Clinic, most diagnosed people will require surgery. This can include the removal of ovaries or hysterectomies.
Outside of the class action, plaintiffs have filed thousands of lawsuits over the last couple years claiming that L’Oréal, Strength of Nature and other companies failed to warn their customers of the health risks associated with their products. While uterine cancer is the main concern, some lawsuits have also blamed the development of ovarian cancer on hair relaxers.
The progress of these lawsuits is still in the early stages. No bellwether trials have been selected yet and no settlements have been reached. As of this month, there are 8,393 cases pending in the Illinois-based MDL.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.