Tenn. Couple Sues Pfizer for Wife’s Lipitor Type-2 Diabetes

Amalia and William Peterson of Tennessee are suing Pfizer Inc. for the injuries Amalia allegedly suffered from the cholesterol drug Lipitor. Amalia alleges that as a direct result of using the medication, she developed Lipitor type-2 diabetes.

Amalia was first prescribed Lipitor in 1997 to reduce the amount of cholesterol and other fatty substances in her blood and continued taking the medication until September 2007. She was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes in 2002. Amalia was under the belief that Lipitor would help reduce her risk of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke, because she had been following prescription instructions and her physician’s orders.

Amalia had not been aware of Lipitor’s association with type-2 diabetes development until she stopped taking the drug in 2007. She says there were no warnings or indications on the Lipitor warning label that indicated the possibility of Lipitor type-2 diabetes. After discovering the alleged link, she and her husband sued Pfizer for concealing this information from them, stating that the company had the obligation to warn them about the risk.

Overview of Lipitor Diabetes Complications

Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a cholesterol-lowering medication manufactured by Pfizer, which was first approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 1996. It is the best-selling drug in pharmaceutical history. Sales of Lipitor exceeded $125 billion during its first year on the market. Millions of patients use Lipitor to lower their cholesterol, reducing their risk of stroke and cardiac complications. Ideally, in conjunction with diet and exercise, Lipitor would allow the patients to live a longer, healthier, and more active life. Despite its popularity, Lipitor has come under public scrutiny due to associations with type-2 diabetes and muscle, liver, and endocrine damage.

Lipitor is a member of the drug class known as statins. Like all statins, Lipitor works by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme found in liver tissue, which is vital in the production and balancing of cholesterol in the body.  Lipitor is often prescribed to patients who have abnormally high levels of fatty lipids in their blood.  However, medical experts suspect this mechanism may trigger the development of Lipitor type-2 diabetes in some patients.

A study conducted at the University of Massachusetts found a potential link between the use of Lipitor and the development of type-2 diabetes in postmenopausal women, particularly those who had a body mass index (BMI) that was less than 25. Of the 153,840 women evaluated in this study, which was conducted from 1993 to 2005, more than 10,200 women developed type-2 diabetes. The study concluded that postmenopausal women taking Lipitor and other statins had about a 9 percent greater risk of developing type-2 diabetes as a side effect when compared to other treatment drugs.

This Lipitor lawsuit is Amalia E. Peterson, et al. v. Pfizer Inc., Case 1:13-cv-00365-CLC-WBC, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Chattanooga Division.

Free Help for Women who Took Lipitor & Developed Diabetes

If you’re a woman who took Lipitor, or you know a woman who took Lipitor, and later developed type-2 diabetes, you have legal options. Please visit the Lipitor Diabetes Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. There, you can submit your claim for a free legal review and if it qualifies for legal action, a seasoned Lipitor lawyer will contact you for a free, no-obligation consultation. You will be guided through the litigation process at no out-of-pocket expenses or hidden fees. The Lipitor attorneys working this investigation do not get paid until you do.