As the waves of the federal Lipitor lawsuits increase, the presiding federal judge has announced the approximate time for the first bellwether trial.

Each of the Lipitor lawsuits involved in this multidistrict litigation (MDL) allege that the popular cholesterol drug caused them to develop type-2 diabetes, with the first representative case set to go to trial in October 2015.

Currently, there are more than 1,250 Lipitor lawsuits pending against Pfizer in the ongoing MDL. Each of these Lipitor lawsuits allege that the company’s statin drug had caused post-menopausal women to develop type-2 diabetes.

These plaintiffs took Lipitor as a preventative measure against heart disease, and were hopeful to live a longer and healthier life. There were so many of these Lipitor lawsuits that they were all consolidated into an MDL for more efficient legal processing, to ensure that these cases are resolved faster and to prevent legal resources from being wasted.

Presiding over this MDL is U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel of South Carolina. At the last status conference, the judge announced that the first Lipitor bellwether trial will occur sometime in October 2015. During this status conference, Judge Gergel addressed several issues in the ongoing discovery process, and imposed limits on the parties’ abilities to individually meet with the plaintiffs’ treating physicians.

Attorneys for the defense have been ordered to not meet “ex parte” with treating or prescribing healthcare providers unless they have the plaintiffs’ permission. Likewise, the attorneys for the plaintiffs’ side may meet with these physicians, but must disclose certain records or documents to the defense.

These Lipitor bellwether trials are meant to represent the rest of the cases in the MDL for the purpose of reducing the chances of duplicative discovery, conflicting rulings from different judges, and to further serve the convenience of the parties.

Judge Gergel and the parties have already selected a small number of Lipitor lawsuits to be possible bellwether cases, and he has declared that the chosen cases must be trial-ready by July 2015.

There are currently 12 “initial discovery” Lipitor lawsuits, which will most likely be reduced to six in December 2014, with both parties choosing three Lipitor lawsuits that would be ideal for the first trial. Judge Gergel has indicated that he will then randomly choose one of the six Lipitor diabetes lawsuits later to be the first bellwether trial.

Additionally, the first bellwether trial will help the attorneys involved determine how the jury may react to certain evidence, which will inevitably be repeated in further testimony, as well as through the litigation process.

While the outcome of these Lipitor bellwether trials are not going to be binding to other lawsuits, the outcomes may influence future Lipitor lawsuits as well as any future Lipitor settlement negotiations.

Overview of Lipitor Diabetes Complications

Lipitor was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1996 and is manufactured by the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer Inc. It is a cholesterol-treatment drug that is prescribed to patients who are at risk for heart disease.

While widely successful, Pfizer has been under fire for the past two years for certain information that Lipitor’s label reportedly lacks. This concern is related to the fact that numerous patients have reported developing type-2 diabetes after ingesting Lipitor. After the injury reports reached a certain number, the FDA ordered Pfizer to update Lipitor’s label to include some indication that their product can induce diabetes.

The current Lipitor warning label states that the drug may cause changes in the patient’s blood sugar levels. While this can lead to diabetes, the drug’s label does not explain this nor does it explicitly mention type-2 diabetes.

This omission has led to mass criticism from patients and medical experts, that the label is not specific and poorly worded, and that the company is more concerned with protecting Lipitor’s market value than the safety of their customers.

As of now, medical experts are unsure as to why this Lipitor side effect may be occurring, but suspect it is linked to how patients may metabolize the drug. Regardless of the reason, patients across the country are continuing to file Lipitor lawsuits against Pfizer for this infraction, with legal experts expecting more to come.