Minn. Woman Files Lipitor Lawsuit After Getting Diabetes

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A Minnesota woman has filed a Lipitor lawsuit against Pfizer Inc., alleging that the cholesterol medication caused her to develop type-2 diabetes.

Christine Holman began taking Lipitor in December 2001. Her doctor prescribed the heart disease medication to treat her high cholesterol because both her triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins were too high.

Holman claims that she was otherwise very healthy when she began taking the cholesterol medication and lived a healthy and active lifestyle. She also claims she ate a healthy diet and had a healthy weight. She decided to take Lipitor to reduce her risk of developing heart disease.

In 2010, the Minnesota woman was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and stopped taking Lipitor in August 2013 when she learned that the cholesterol medication might have been the cause.

Because she is now a diabetic, she must submit to regular testing of her blood glucose levels, eat a restrictive diet and must take medication to treat her diabetes. She also has a much higher chance of developing heart disease, blindness, neuropathy and kidney disease.

Pfizer Accused of Concealing Liptior Diabetes Risk

Until February 2012, Pfizer had not issued any warnings concerning the effects Lipitor had on changes in blood sugar levels.

Lipitor is in the class of drugs known as statins that was developed in the mid-1990s by Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research, which is a division of the Warner-Lambert Company.

Warner-Lambert made a co-marketing agreement with Pfizer regarding Lipitor not long after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug to be marketed in the United States. In the summer of 2000, Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert including all rights to Lipitor.

“Despite its knowledge of date indicating that Lipitor use is causally related to the development of type-2 diabetes and/or blood glucose levels diagnostic for type-2 diabetes, Pfizer promoted and marketed Lipitor as safe and effective for persons such as Plaintiff throughout the United States, including this judicial district,” the Lipitor lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, Pfizer began changing the Lipitor labels in August 2011 after a review was released by the FDA’s Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products.

Pfizer then added a warning to the Lipitor labels in early 2012 saying that the class of drugs that Lipitor belonged was linked to an increase in glucose levels.

However, “Lipitor’s label continues to fail to warn customers of the serious risk of developing type 2 diabetes per se when using Lipitor.”

Lipitor has and will cause Holman to “endure pain and suffering, has suffered economic loss, including incurring significant expenses for medical care and treatment and will continue to incur such expenses in the future.”

She is charging Pfizer with failure to warn, negligence, breach of implied warranty, fraud, constructive fraud and unjust enrichment.

Holman is asking Pfizer to pay general and punitive damages including medical expenses and a refund of all the money she spent on Lipitor.

The Lipitor lawsuit is Christine A. Holman v. Pfizer Inc., Case No. 0:13-cv-03139-JRT-TNL, in the U.S. District Court for the State of Minnesota.

Help for Victims of Lipitor Diabetes

If you or a loved one were prescribed Lipitor before February 1, 2012 and were later diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, you may be able to take legal action against the drug’s manufacturer. Filing a Lipitor lawsuit may help you obtain compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering and other damages. Learn more and obtain a free case evaluation at the Lipitor Diabetes Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.