Plaintiff Vallinda McLeod has filed a lawsuit against Pfizer Inc., alleging that their cholesterol drug Lipitor caused her to develop type-2 diabetes.

Lipitor is a type of drug called a HM-CoA reductase inhibitor or statin. This drug is designed to alter the level of LDL or “bad” cholesterol, as well as total cholesterol in the blood. This can help prevent many of the serious complications associated with high cholesterol, like heart disease and stroke. However, evidence exists that Lipitor may promote an increased risk of type-2 diabetes. After taking Lipitor, McLeod’s physicians diagnosed her with type-2 diabetes.

The Lipitor lawsuit alleges that Pfizer, and it’s predecessors, had evidence that Lipitor and other statins could increase a person’s risk of developing type-2 diabetes. The lawsuit states that Pfizer had evidence since at least 1996 that their drug could cause diabetes. The lawsuit cites peer-reviewed journals, postmarket surveillance, and even the company’s own clinical testing  as means that Pfizer could have discovered these risks.

McLeod’s lawsuit further alleges that not only was Pfizer aware of the risks, but that they actively concealed the risks from the public and the healthcare industry. The Lipitor lawsuit states that  Pfizer never made any kind of warning about diabetes regarding Lipitor until 2013, despite having reason to believe there was a risk as early as 1996. In fact, Pfizer did not add any warning to Liptor’s labeling until the FDA mandated it in 2013, the better part of a decade later. The warning did not mention diabetes by name. Instead, it merely included the phrase, that the drug “increases in HbA1c and fasting serum glucose levels have been reported with HM-CoA reductase inhibitors, including Lipitor,” the lawsuit says.

McLeod’s lawsuit holds that this warning does not adequately warn patients, and obscures the actual warning in jargon. McLeod would have never used the drug had she been aware of the risks, the lawsuit contends.

The case is Vallinda McLeod v. Pfizer Incorporated, Case No. 1:13-cv-00445-HSO-RHW, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Mississippi.