Pfizer has recently issued warnings noting that its popular cholesterol drug Lipitor has been linked to type-2 diabetes, but a Virginia woman along with many others are seeking damages in court, alleging that the company knew far before the 2012 warning.

According to the Lipitor lawsuit, plaintiff Ella M. Gossett began taking the medication to lower her LDL cholesterol levels in September 2004 and was diagnosed with what she later found out were Lipitor side effects roughly four years later. However, the woman reportedly was unaware of the link between the Pfizer drug and the development of type-2 diabetes until years later, as evidenced by her continuing use of Lipitor until 2011.

Her Lipitor lawsuit alleges that Pfizer knew or should have known of the risks involved with the entire class of statins, but with Lipitor specifically, “even though this side effect was known or reasonably scientifically knowable at the time of distribution.” It was not until February 2012 that Pfizer responded to a request from the FDA for a label change regarding Lipitor type-2 diabetes side effects.

The language is allegedly not clear, and according to the Lipitor lawsuit, “continues to fail to warn consumers of the serious risk of developing [type-2] diabetes per se when using Lipitor.” Instead, the label indicates that “increases in HbA1c and fasting serum glucose levels have been reported with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, including Lipitor.”

As a result Gossett is at risk for all of the complications of Lipitor type-2 diabetes side effects including nerve damage, blindness and kidney damage. That does not include the increased likelihood of cardiovascular that many women taking the cholesterol drug were trying to avoid in the first place.

The Lipitor type-2 diabetes lawsuit is Ella M. Gossett v. Pfizer, Inc., Case No 4-cv-00067, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois. She is seeking damages on counts of failure to warn, negligence, breach of implied warranty, fraud, unjust enrichment and constructive fraud.