A woman alleges that drug maker Pfizer’s popular cholesterol drug, Lipitor, caused her to develop type-2 diabetes.

The Lipitor diabetes lawsuit was filed jointly by plaintiff Peggy Sanders and her husband. The lawsuit alleges that Sanders developed type-2 diabetes by taking Lipitor, that Pfizer knew this risk, and that the company deliberately suppressed the information in order to continue making a profit off its blockbuster drug.

Sanders took the drug from 1997 to 2012, according to her Lipitor lawsuit. In 2002, she was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. The Lipitor lawsuit states that Sanders was not initially aware that her diabetes could have been caused by Lipitor. Type-2 diabetes is a life-long condition that carries the risk of complications including kidney failure and heart disease.

Thousands of individual Lipitor lawsuits have been filed. To deal with this mass legal action, the court system has combined the Lipitor lawsuits into a single legal proceeding called a multidistrict litigation, or MDL. An MDL is a coordinated group of similar lawsuits. The Lipitor MDL includes thousands of individual Lipitor lawsuits that make similar claims.

Among the claims made in Lipitor diabetes lawsuits like this is the allegation that Pfizer knew — or reasonably should have known — about the potential link between Lipitor and diabetes. Under U.S. law, drug makers are obligated to thoroughly test their products, and monitor post-market reports and medical journals for signs that their drug is having unforeseen side effects. Lawsuits like this allege that Pfizer failed in this role, either through negligence or through deliberately ignoring such information, and continued to promote the drug.

Additionally, Lipitor lawsuits like the Sanders’ allege that not only was Pfizer aware of the risk of Lipitor diabetes, but that the drug maker actively downplayed and suppressed information about these risks. Lawsuits within the Lipitor MDL often cite the millions in advertising dollars that Pfizer has invested in Lipitor, even as scientific papers found stronger and stronger evidence of Lipitor diabetes. Additionally, Lipitor diabetes lawsuits cite the fact that when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked the makers of Lipitor to add a warning about the possible risk of Lipitor diabetes, Pfizer’s updated drug information included medical jargon about “increased blood glucose levels” and never used the word “diabetes” in the warning.

The individual Lipitor Lawsuit is Peggy Sanders, et al. v. Pfizer Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-3140-RMG, within the larger Lipitor MDL In re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Marketing, Sales Practice and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2502, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division.