The first Lipitor bellwether trial—a test case that could determine whether drug maker Pfizer settles thousands of similar Lipitor diabetes cases–has been scheduled for Nov. 4, 2015.

A federal panel created a Lipitor type-2 diabetes multidistrict litigation (MDL) in U.S. District Court in South Carolina so that a single judge could oversee the consolidated pretrial proceedings in the more than 2,000 Lipitor lawsuits. These Lipitor lawsuits similarly claim the popular statin drug designed by Pfizer to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke caused many patients to develop type-2 diabetes. In multidistrict litigation, a small group of cases are prepared for trial in what are known in the legal system as bellwether cases. As previously stated, the first Lipitor bellwether trial is set to go to court in early November of this year.

Bellwether trials are beneficial to both plaintiffs and defendants because they help the parties gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony common to all cases in the MDL. The outcomes of the bellwether trials can influence later negotiations between the parties, avoiding thousands of individual trials. Many hope that the outcome of the first Lipitor bellwether trial will lead to type-2 diabetes settlements in the future.

Lipitor Bellwether Trial Background

The case of a Colorado woman who took Lipitor for 15 years before developing type-2 diabetes is the first Lipitor bellwether trial. Wilma D. claims she was in excellent health before she began taking the statin as a preventative measure to lower her cholesterol levels and decrease her risk of developing heart disease.

Instead of improving the plaintiff’s health and quality of life, this Lipitor type-2 diabetes lawsuit claims Wilma’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, as well as suffering blindness, kidney disease, neuropathy and a host of other conditions, is greatly increased due to having Lipitor type-2 diabetes.

The next case management conference for the Lipitor MDL this Lipitor bellwether trial is filed under is to take place on April 23 of this year. This Lipitor MDL hearing will address issues pertaining to product liability claims filed on behalf of Lipitor patients who allegedly developed new-onset type-2 diabetes.

Lipitor Type-2 Diabetes Allegations

In 2012, the FDA ordered safety label changes for statins, including Lipitor, alerting consumers of the need for routine monitoring of liver enzymes, information about non-serious cognitive side effects such as memory loss or confusion, reports of increased blood sugar levels, and drug interactions.

The new regulations were ordered after an earlier statin study found middle-aged or older female Lipitor patients may be at an increased risk of developing new-onset type-2 diabetes. Many of the plaintiffs who filed Lipitor lawsuits were diagnosed with type-2 diabetes despite living healthy lifestyles.

These product liability lawsuits against Pfizer accuse the drug manufacturer of failing to disclose information to both the medical field and consumers about the risks associated with the popular cholesterol-lowering statin and type-2 diabetes and of putting profits before patient safety.

Plaintiffs accuse Pfizer of an “inadequate and insufficient” warning label that did not properly disclose diabetes as a potential Lipitor side effect. Even after the FDA ordered the safety label change in 2012, the notice warning of a risk of changes to blood glucose levels were alegedly “vague, unclear and uninformative,” according to Wilma’s Lipitor bellwether trial case and other Lipitor lawsuits.

Lipitor patients who have developed type-2 diabetes may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.