An Indiana woman is suing Pfizer Inc. for allegedly causing her to develop type-2 diabetes as a result of taking the cholesterol drug Lipitor.

Plaintiff Martha C. suffered from high cholesterol and was worried about potential heart complications. She was prescribed Lipitor by her doctor to treat her high cholesterol in 2002, according to her Lipitor lawsuit.

Initially, Martha responded well to the drug and followed the prescription with no complications.

However, Martha was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes in May 2004. By the time she stopped taking Liptior in August 2009, Martha had adapted her lifestyle to contend with her diabetic symptoms.

This includes taking a variety of diabetic medications to control her symptoms, adhering to a strict diet, frequently checking her blood sugar, and regularly seeing her physician.

Martha was not aware that her years of taking Lipitor could have caused her diabetes until Pfizer updated Lipitor’s warning label in 2012. Even now, the Lipitor label does not explicitly mention type-2 diabetes.

Instead, it warns that patients may experience changes in blood-sugar levels. A majority of the patient population is not aware that this side effect is linked to type-2 diabetes.

Overview of Lipitor Diabetes Complications

Lipitor is part of the statin drug family that prevents blood cells from absorbing bad cholesterol, while encouraging the cells to absorb good fats. Lipitor was meant to help patients live a healthier life and increase their longevity, while decreasing their overall risk of heart disease.

This makes it painfully ironic for former Lipitor patients suffering from type-2 diabetes, as the disease makes patients more vulnerable to heart disease and other fatal complications.

Currently, doctors are unsure what causes Lipitor to induce type-2 diabetes, but believe it has to do with the patient’s metabolic system. Lipitor diabetes is said to occur most commonly in postmenopausal women.

Martha is suing Pfizer for allegedly concealing vital safety information. She states that her condition was completely avoidable, and that she never would have taken Lipitor if she had known about the possibility of type-2 diabetes.

For being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous drug, Martha is bringing charges of negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product against Pfizer.

This Lipitor Lawsuit is part of a multidistrict litigation, 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.