Hair Relaxer Claims in Los Angeles
Claims involving chemical hair straighteners and relaxers, reviewed from a downtown Los Angeles office by attorney Bejan Broukhim.
How a hair relaxer lawsuit works for Los Angeles clients.
If you or someone you love developed uterine cancer, ovarian cancer or uterine fibroids after years of using chemical hair straighteners or relaxers, you may want a hair relaxer lawsuit lawyer in Los Angeles to review what happened. Broukhim Legal PC reviews hair relaxer claims for clients across Los Angeles County and California, and attorney Bejan Broukhim personally reviews each matter.
On this page: Key takeaways · Why choose Broukhim Legal PC · Who may qualify · What the lawsuits allege · Records to gather · Deadlines · What compensation may be sought · What a lawyer costs · Where we serve clients
Key takeaways
- Federal hair relaxer claims are consolidated in MDL 3060 in the Northern District of Illinois. These cases are consolidated in federal or state court, so where you live in California does not limit a claim.
- The conditions most often described in the filings are uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and uterine fibroids.
- The allegations are contested. The manufacturers deny them and no finding has been made against them, so a careful review matters more than a quick answer.
- You do not need to remember every brand. The rough period of use, how often, and whether it was done at a salon or at home is where a review starts.
- This is not a class action. Each claim stays separate, with its own facts and its own outcome.
- Broukhim Legal PC takes these cases on a contingency fee: nothing up front, and no fee unless we recover for you.
Why choose Broukhim Legal PC for your hair relaxer case?
- Direct access to your lawyer. Bejan Broukhim personally reviews your matter and leads its strategy. You can speak directly with the lawyer reviewing your case.
- Years of experience, fully licensed. Bejan Broukhim brings years of experience in California injury and mass tort law and holds an active California law license, State Bar number 183036.
- A review built around product history. Most women used several brands over many years, often at a salon. We work from what you can remember, salon records, photographs and family recollection, and partial history is still worth bringing.
- Medical records handled for you. The diagnosis, pathology report, treating oncologist and surgical records are the documents the review turns on, and the firm requests them so you do not have to chase them.
- No fee unless we recover for you. You pay nothing up front, and if nothing is recovered you owe no fee.
- Ready for court. Every case is prepared from day one as though it will go to trial, so any offer is measured against a case that is ready to be tried.
Who may qualify to bring a hair relaxer claim?
A review generally looks at two things: use of chemical hair straightening or relaxer products, and a qualifying diagnosis. Neither has to be perfectly documented on day one.
- Product use. Regular use of chemical straighteners or relaxers over a period of years, whether you applied them yourself or had them applied at a salon. Many people started in childhood or their teens.
- Diagnosis. Uterine cancer, ovarian cancer or uterine fibroids, shown by medical records.
- Family claims. If the person who used the products has died, the family may still have a claim. Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 sets out who may bring a wrongful death action.
- Hairstylists. Salon workers who applied relaxers for many hours a week had far heavier exposure than most clients, and that work history is also looked at.
- Related products. Where a hormonal contraceptive rather than a cosmetic product is in the history, Depo-Provera and meningioma claims are reviewed on the same basis.
What do hair relaxer lawsuits allege?
The lawsuits allege that chemical hair straightening and relaxer products contained ingredients capable of disrupting the endocrine system, including certain phthalates and formaldehyde-releasing compounds, and that the manufacturers failed to warn users of a risk of hormone-related cancers. The litigation gained force after a 2022 National Institutes of Health study reported a higher incidence of uterine cancer among women who used relaxers frequently.
These are allegations in contested litigation. The manufacturers deny them, the science is disputed, and no finding has been made against them. Any website telling you the connection is settled is overstating where things stand. A lawyer reviewing your claim should tell you the same.
What records should you gather for a hair relaxer claim?
Remembering exact brands from twenty years ago is not realistic, and nobody expects it. Product history is the part people find hardest, so it helps to know what can stand in for it:
- Rough period of use: when you started, when you stopped and how often you applied a relaxer.
- Where it was done: at a salon or at home, and the name and location of any salon.
- Salon records: salons sometimes keep client records going back years, and loyalty accounts or receipts can fill gaps.
- Photographs and family recollection, which fill gaps more often than people expect.
- Medical records: the diagnosis, the pathology report, the treating oncologist and surgical records, including any hysterectomy.
- For stylists: employment history, your cosmetology licence and the safety data sheets for products you handled.
Partial product history is still worth bringing rather than staying silent about. If treatment is finished, surgery has already happened or the person has passed away, a claim may still exist. We request the medical records ourselves.
How long do you have to file a hair relaxer lawsuit?
- Two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in California, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
- Delayed discovery. For an illness that appears years after exposure, the two years can run from when the injury and its likely cause were, or should have been, discovered. That rule is applied case by case and is not something to rely on without advice.
- Wrongful death. Claims for a death are brought by the people Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 permits, and the timing depends on the facts.
Because cancer diagnoses and the date a link to a product was or should have been discovered vary so much, have your own date reviewed early instead of assuming you are inside or outside the window.
What compensation may be sought in a hair relaxer case?
A claim for a serious illness can include several categories of loss. What applies to you depends on your diagnosis, your treatment and the evidence, and no result can be promised or predicted:
- Medical expenses, past and future, including surgery, chemotherapy, monitoring and long term care.
- Lost earnings and loss of future earning capacity.
- Pain, suffering and emotional distress, and the loss of enjoyment of life.
- Wrongful death damages for the family under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 where the illness was fatal.
- Punitive damages under Civil Code section 3294 where a defendant is shown to have acted with malice, oppression or fraud. They are not awarded in every case.
This is not a class action, so the facts of your own exposure and diagnosis, not a group average, shape your claim.
How much does a hair relaxer lawyer cost?
No fee unless there is a recovery. Injury and mass tort matters are taken on a contingency fee, so there is nothing to pay up front and the fee is paid out of what is recovered. If nothing is recovered, no fee is owed. The fee agreement is put in writing and signed before any work starts, as California law requires (Business and Professions Code section 6147), and the costs of running the case are explained in that same agreement rather than left to the end. Your first conversation is free, confidential and carries no obligation.
Where does Broukhim Legal PC represent hair relaxer clients?
Mass tort claims are taken on for clients across Los Angeles County, including Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Torrance, Inglewood, Pomona, Downey, Norwalk, El Monte, Santa Monica and West Covina. These cases are consolidated in federal or state court rather than heard locally, so where you live does not limit the claim.
Read more about our mass tort practice or see all locations we serve. When you are ready, tell us about your diagnosis and product history for a free case review.
Meet your Los Angeles hair relaxer lawsuit lawyer
Bejan Broukhim, Founder and Lead Attorney
State Bar of California, license number 183036
Bejan Broukhim brings years of California legal experience to injury and mass tort cases and personally reviews each one. He earned his J.D. at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, served as a judicial extern in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Van Nuys Superior Court, and appeared in preliminary hearings as a certified law clerk with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Every case is prepared from day one as though it will go to trial.
Office: 550 S Hill Street, Suite 1390, Los Angeles, CA 90013, serving all of Los Angeles County and California. Get directions
Hair relaxer cases we review for Los Angeles clients
- A diagnosis on record: Uterine cancer, ovarian cancer or uterine fibroids documented by a clinician, with the pathology report.
- A history of relaxer use: Roughly when it began, how long it continued and how frequently, rather than exact dates.
- Salon or home application: Salon records, where they exist, are often the strongest evidence of product history.
- Any brand names you can recall: Partial recollection is normal and still useful. Nobody is expected to produce a complete list.
- Treatment records: Surgery, chemotherapy or hysterectomy records, which establish the extent of the harm.
- When the link was first raised: Because the timing of discovery can affect which deadline applies.
Our process.
Consultation
A confidential first conversation. We review the facts, tell you where you stand, and set out the realistic options.
Strategy
Scope and fees agreed in writing, then a plan built from day one as if the matter will go to trial.
Resolution
We negotiate from a position of strength, and litigate aggressively when that is what your interests require.
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Hair relaxer claims, answered plainly.
It is normal, not a problem. Most women used several products over decades, often starting as children, usually applied at a salon. Nobody is expected to produce a list. The rough period, the frequency, and whether it was salon or home application is enough to start. Salons sometimes hold client records going back years, and those can be requested.
No. An MDL groups cases before one judge so the shared questions are handled once instead of thousands of times. Your claim remains your own, built on your own medical records and your own history, with its own outcome. There is no class fund and no coupon.
It depends on when the diagnosis was made and when the possible connection to the products was or reasonably should have been discovered, which is why a single date cannot honestly be given on a web page. For illnesses whose cause was not apparent at the time, California’s discovery rules can affect the analysis significantly. Have it assessed against your actual records.
Two things decide it: a diagnosis the litigation covers, and a history of relaxer use you can describe even roughly. Uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and uterine fibroids treated surgically are the diagnoses most often reviewed, and the pathology report is what settles which one applies. On the product side, the years of use, the frequency, and whether application was at a salon or at home is enough to begin with. If the records do not support a claim you are told that rather than signed up. The first conversation is free, confidential and carries no obligation, and the scope of the work and the fees are agreed in writing before anything starts.
Not necessarily. In cases where the cause of an illness was not known at the time of diagnosis, the relevant question is often when the connection was or reasonably should have been discovered rather than the diagnosis date itself. That is a fact-specific assessment, and it is better made early than left.
Possibly. A claim may be brought by the estate and, separately, by qualifying family members under California’s wrongful death provisions. The records needed are similar: the diagnosis, the pathology and treatment history, and whatever product history the family can reconstruct. Those deadlines run on their own clock, so it is worth asking sooner.
You will be asked for the specifics: the approximate period of use, how often, salon or home, whatever brand names come to mind, your treating providers, and authorisation to collect your records. Those records are reviewed against the litigation’s criteria and you are told candidly whether the claim proceeds. If it does, it is filed and joins the coordinated proceedings, where much of what follows requires nothing from you.
General information about California law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading it. Deadlines and outcomes turn on the facts of your own matter, so have yours reviewed. By submitting, you agree that Broukhim Legal PC may contact you about your inquiry by phone, text or email. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out of texts. Consent is not a condition of hiring the firm.
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