Plaintiff Debra Slaughter was reportedly prescribed Lipitor by her primary care physician in July 2010 to help manage her cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. She was diagnosed by her doctor with type-2 diabetes in May 2011. According to her Lipitor diabetes lawsuit, it became clear a month later that this new health complication was a result of her use of Lipitor. Slaughter reportedly had no previous history of diabetes and led a healthy and active lifestyle prior to taking the drug.

That changed after she learned that Lipitor had raised her blood sugar to dangerous levels. Her development of diabetes has increased her risk of heart disease, blindness, neuropathy, and kidney disease, according to her Lipitor lawsuit.

Slaughter’s Lipitor diabetes lawsuit accuses Pfizer of failure to warn of the product dangers, negligence, breach of warranty, fraud, and punitive damages. She is seeking relief and compensation for damages, past, current, and future medical expenses, refund for the purchase of Lipitor, and attorney’s fees.

The Lipitor Diabetes Lawsuit is Debra Slaughter v. Pfizer Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-1895-RMG, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

History of Lipitor

Lipitor is a statin drug used to treat and manage high LDL cholesterol levels for individuals at risk of heart disease.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the manufacturing and marketing of Lipitor to the general public on Dec. 17, 1996. Pfizer became aware of the possible development of diabetes as a side effect of continued Lipitor use, but did not make any move to warn their consumers of the possibility, according to Lipitor lawsuit attorneys. On Aug. 11, 2011, the FDA issued a formal request to Pfizer to update its labels and advertisements to reflect reports linking Lipitor with increased development of diabetes.

It was not until  February 2012 that Pfizer complied and moved into action to change its marketing and labeling of Lipitor to reflect the possibility of raised blood sugar levels and development of type-2 diabetes in Lipitor consumers.

More than 100,000 users of Lipitor across the nation have allegedly developed, or are at risk of developing, type-2 diabetes as a result of the use of Lipitor.