Products Liability
New research has found that chemicals in hair relaxers or hair straighteners can interfere with estrogen production and cause endometriosis, infertility, and other related conditions. This new evidence is sparking a wave of hair relaxer endometriosis lawsuits against cosmetic companies that manufacture hair relaxer products.
Our lawyers believe – and we dig into this more below – that hair relaxer lawsuits that alleged the products caused endometriosis or endometrial cancer are strong claims that may ultimately bring high settlement amounts.
About Chemical Hair Relaxers
Hair straighteners or hair relaxers are cosmetic products used mostly by African American women to flatten their naturally curly hair. Relaxer products employ a very strong mix of chemicals that destabilize the protein structures in the hair, forcing them to lay flat. So the purpose of a chemical hair relaxer is to “break chemical bonds in the hair and alter the structure,” producing a straightening effect that “usually lasts until new hair grows out.” Michael R. Flaherty, Annotation, Products Liability: Hair Straighteners and Relaxants, 84 A.L.R.4th 1090, 1093 (1991).
All hair relaxer products contain chemicals such as phthalates that are known to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The endocrine system produces hormones such as estrogen (in women). EDCs disrupt the natural functioning of this system causing hormone imbalances.
Black women have been using hair relaxers for over 150 years. Hair straightening is a bigger deal in the black community than the media attention it gets. Black people are 13% of our population, but make up a reported 22% of the $42 billion-a-year personal care products market. Lawyers have even raised whether there is a constitutional right to hair straightening products before court appearances.
About Endometriosis
The inside of the uterus is called the endometrium and it is lined with a special type of tissue called endometrial tissue. The endometrium regenerates each month as part of the female menstrual cycle. Endometriosis is a condition in which endometrial tissue begins to grow outside of the inner uterus.
The abnormal growth of endometrial tissue most commonly occurs around the reproductive organs in the abdominal area such as the fallopian tubes, ligaments around the uterus, ovaries, the outside of the uterus, etc. When endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus in these areas, it does not shed every month during a menstrual cycle. As a result, the tissue begins to build up, which eventually leads to inflammation, scarring, and pain.
Endometriosis can be treated surgically. It can involve the removal of the ovaries in severe cases when multiple surgical or medical therapies have failed to alleviate the symptoms.
Endometriosis and Fertility
Endometriosis can be very painful. The primary symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain. The pain is frequently cyclic related to menstruation. It can also cause female infertility as abnormal endometrial tissue growth builds up. Infertility occurs frequently with endometriosis and is not reduced by medical therapy. Surgical therapy is the only real option for most women to improve fertility due to endometriosis. It is estimated that 25% to 50% of women with endometriosis will also suffer from some degree of impaired fertility.
Do a lot of women have problems with infertility? Sure. But let’s put this in context. The estimated risk of infertility is 20 times greater in women with endometriosis than in those who have not suffered from the condition. That statistic should do wonders to defeat the “she would have had infertility problems anyway” argument at trial.
Hair Relaxers Can Cause Endometriosis
Research has shown that endometriosis is associated with exposure to phthalates, and EDC chemicals commonly used in hair relaxer products. A collection of medical studies published over the last 10 years have consistently found that DEHP (a chemical found in hair relaxers) is associated with an increased risk of developing endometriosis.
These studies have found that DEHP can lead to endometriosis because it increases the volume and activity of endometrial stromal cells. Excessive endometrial stromal cells is a known risk factor and a required precondition of endometriosis. Juhye Kim, et al., Chronic Low-Dose Nonylphenol or Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate has a Different Estrogen-like Response in Mouse Uterus, Development & Reproduction, Vol. 22(4):379-391 (2018).
A study published in the journal Human Reproduction in 2013 reported finding significantly higher plasma DEHP concentrations in blood tests in endometriotic women compared to blood levels in those without the disease. Another study published in 2013 that included a sample size of approximately 500 women living in various states observed that DEHP’s metabolite, MEHP, was the only phthalate consistently associated with endometriosis.
Hair Relaxer Linked to Uterine Cancer and Other Diseases
New evidence from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has also found that regular exposure to chemical hair relaxers can significantly increase the risk of uterine cancer, breast cancer, and several other hormone-related diseases and health conditions. In October 2022, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published preliminary findings from a long-term NIH study called the “Sister Study.” The Sister Study found that regular use of chemical hair relaxers increased the risk of developing uterine cancer by 150%. This study, more than anything else, triggered the floodgates of hair relaxer lawsuits.
Aside from uterine cancer, hair relaxer use has also been linked to breast cancer. In 2021, a study by Oxford University found a 30% increase in the risk of developing breast cancer among women who used chemical hair relaxers a minimum of 7 times per year for 15 years or longer. Uterine fibroids have also been linked to the regular use of hair relaxers or hair perms. A 2012 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that women who regularly used hair relaxer significantly increased their risk of developing uterine fibroids.
Hair Relaxer Class Action Lawsuit
The publication of the NIH Sister Study in October 2022 quickly led to a growing tide of hair relaxer product liability lawsuits. The first hair relaxer lawsuits were filed within weeks after the publication of the Sister Study. Dozens more followed in federal courts across the country.
The plaintiffs in these hair relaxer lawsuits are women who used relaxer products regularly for long periods and were later diagnosed with endometriosis, uterine cancer, or uterine fibroids. The defendants named in the lawsuits include major cosmetic companies such as L’Oreal. L’Oreal and the other manufacturers are being accused of negligent design and negligent failure to warn.
In November, a group of hair relaxer plaintiffs filed a motion with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) seeking consolidation of all hair relaxer lawsuits into a new class action MDL. L’Oreal and the other defendants filed response briefs voicing their strong opposition to the consolidation request. But the request was granted and we now have a hair relaxer class action lawsuits. As we explain below. our law firm is focusing on cancer claims only.
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Estimated Settlement Value of Hair Relaxer Endometriosis Lawsuits
Estimating the settlement payouts for new lawsuits like this is inherently speculative. At this stage, we don’t even know for certain if the causation evidence in these cases is going to be admissible in court, or if the cases will otherwise be successful.
We could end the hair relaxer settlement conversation right here. But lawyers shouldn’t stop there. Because we do have opinions – however incomplete – of what average settlement amounts might look like for successful endometriosis hair relaxer lawsuits.
Based on these assumptions, our hair relaxer lawyers estimate that a successful endometriosis lawsuit would have a potential settlement value of $110,000 to $200,000. Hair relaxer lawsuits in which uterine cancer is the primary injury will have higher settlement payouts in all likelihood. But some of these endometriosis have such high levels of suffering, the settlement payouts should be high. One thing that might help push the compensation for endometriosis higher would be if some of these cases go to trial. We think juries will put a high value on many of these cases – higher than our settlement payout estimate – and that could help drive settlement amounts higher.