The Lipitor lawsuits keep coming for Pfizer, with Vicki S. of Arizona being one of the latest plaintiffs to file a Lipitor lawsuit. She alleges that the drug caused permanent physical and emotional injuries including type-2 diabetes.

Like millions of Americans, Vicki suffered from high cholesterol and was at risk for heart disease. After reviewing Pfizer’s advertisements, Vicki started taking Lipitor in 1998 to help lower her chances of cardiac complications. Vicki used Lipitor for years without incident, and followed all prescription instructions and the advice of her physician. Despite her diligence, Vicki still developed type-2 diabetes in 2011.

Vicki now must contend with multiple medications, frequent blood tests, many doctor appointments, and blood-sugar monitoring. Vicki insists that if she had known about the risk of type-2 diabetes, she would never have taken Lipitor. The plaintiff states she is filing a Lipitor lawsuit against Pfizer for failing to protect her against the dangers of their product. She is joining a multidistrict litigation consisting of similar lawsuits, all alleging that Pfizer deliberately concealed side effect information to protect Lipitor’s market value.

Lipitor’s label did not mention the possibility of developing type-2 diabetes, and Pfizer did not admit to any risk related to diabetes until 2012. That year, the company changed Lipitor’s warning label to state that the drug could potentially cause changes in blood-sugar levels, although consumers complain that the label is still inadequate.

This Lipitor Lawsuit is part of the Lipitor MDL known as In re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2502, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division.

Overview of Lipitor Complications

Lipitor is part of the drug family called statins, which are specifically designed to lower bad cholesterol levels while absorbing good cholesterol. Experts believe that statins impair certain cells in the pancreas that are in charge of releasing insulin; when this process is impaired, the chances of developing type-2 diabetes raises exponentially.

Lipitor is a very popular pharmaceutical drug, and has cemented itself as a reliable treatment choice for high cholesterol. Despite the recent claims of type-2 diabetes side effects, Lipitor continually tops Pfizer’s sales charts, generating billions of dollars for Pfizer every year. After being released in the mid 1990s, Lipitor became so popular that it earned the title of the best-selling drug in pharmaceutical history.

Unfortunately, it was not long after Lipitor’s release that patients started reporting serious side effects like type-2 diabetes. Lipitor’s label was not updated to include safety information regarding metabolic issues until 2012, and even then it only described a possible change in blood-sugar.

Many Lipitor plaintiffs claim that Pfizer chose not to include type-2 diabetes on Lipitor’s label in order to protect their profit margins. As cases like Vickie’s work their way through the courts, more information will come to light.