An Arkansas woman recently filed a Lipitor lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. as a result of her diagnosis with type-2 diabetes after taking the cholesterol-lowering medication for an extended period of time.

Plaintiff Diane C. began taking Lipitor in 2000 and stopped in 2014. In 2012, Diane alleges she was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes.

Diane filed the Lipitor diabetes lawsuit for physical and emotional injuries suffered as a direct result of the ingestion of the drug. Diane claims she suffered pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life due to her type-2 diabetes diagnosis.

The Lipitor lawsuit further claims these damages are resultant of the defendants’ failure to adequately warn about the dangers of their medication.

Lipitor Diabetes Risk

The University of Massachusetts Medical School produced a Lipitor study that looked at 150,000 women taking the medication over a number of years, and found that post-menopausal women taking the drug or similar drugs were almost 50 percent more likely to develop type-2 diabetes than those who did not.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning in 2012 that Lipitor, as well as similar drugs, exposed consumers to a small risk of diabetes. The FDA further announced a necessary label change on the drug’s packaging to reflect this Lipitor diabetes risk. However, the agency continues to assert that the benefits of the medication outweigh potential risks.

Lipitor was approved to enter the market in 1996, and is now the best-selling prescription drug of all time. Pfizer receives more than $130 billion globally for this drug alone, and it is prescribed for over 29 million Americans.

Lipitor Lawsuits

Users of Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium), a popular heart disease drug produced and marketed by Pfizer Inc., have recently been filing an increasing number of lawsuits against the drug giant. These lawsuits come after the allegations that the medication can actually cause type-2 diabetes in women.

These Lipitor diabetes lawsuits have increased rapidly, growing grown from just a few dozen to several hundred in just a few short months. The plaintiffs involved in Lipitor diabetes lawsuits are women who allege that Pfizer did not adequately warn them prior to Lipitor ingestion of the risk of type-2 diabetes they would be exposed to because of their medication.

According to many of the Lipitor lawsuits, women who take the drug, the risk of developing type-2 diabetes is greater than it is for men taking Lipitor. Despite this alleged increased risk for women, the benefits of Lipitor are actually lesser for women than they are for men.

Pfizer Inc., Lipitor’s manufacturer, denies any liability in these cases.

If you or someone you know was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes after taking Lipitor, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

The Lipitor Diabetes Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-03428-RMG, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division.