In May, a new study published in the British Medical Journal found further evidence that Lipitor may be linked to an increased risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

Lipitor is a statin, a type of drug designed to lower the so-called “bad cholesterol.” Statins like Lipitor suppress the body’s own processes that produce bad cholesterol.

Since all humans produce some LDL or bad cholesterol, diet and exercise alone can’t control high cholesterol for many, and statins like Lipitor help rein in this side of the equation. But study after study seems to show that statins like Lipitor may have a tradeoff, increasing the risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

Previous studies have found a similar risk of Lipitor diabetes. As far back as 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that Lipitor and other statins could increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes. In fact, older women taking Lipitor had as much as a 50% greater increase in their risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

In this latest Lipitor diabetes study, researchers used data from 500,000 Canadians in the Ontario area. In this study, researchers found that taking statins like Lipitor increased the risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

In fact, different statins had varying increases in diabetes associated them. Of the statins studied, patients taking Lipitor had a 22% increase in their risk of developing diabetes. Other statins like Crestor and Zocor also had an 18% and 10% increase in their risk, respectively.

As trained scientists, the researchers were quick to point out that their research could have other interpretations. Researchers were careful to note that correlation does not always mean causation.

This means that to the standards used in science, more data would be needed to “prove” a link. However, this paper does add to a substantial body of evidence that Lipitor may increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

On top of this, while scientists are trained to acknowledge that there’s always a chance they’re wrong, the legal system has different rubrics in deciding when there’s enough evidence to take action.

Lipitor diabetes lawsuits have been filed over allegations that Lipitor may cause type-2 diabetes. These lawsuits allege that drug makers were aware—or reasonably should have been aware—of the risk of Lipitor diabetes.

These Lipitor lawsuits further allege that drug makers did not do enough to protect people from the risk of Lipitor diabetes, including inadequate warnings.

Lipitor diabetes lawsuits hold that this should make drug makers liable for the medical costs of type-2 diabetes developed after using Lipitor. Since diabetes is a chronic, life-long condition, it can be a substantial financial burden for patients.

The Lipitor MDL is In re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation (No. II), MDL No. 2502, U.S. District Court of Southern Carolina.