Louisiana Woman Files Lipitor Diabetes Lawsuit

A Louisiana woman has filed a Lipitor lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. after she was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, which she alleges was caused by the cholesterol medication. 

According to the Lipitor lawsuit, New Orleans resident Gladys Butler began taking Lipitor in August 2002 to lower her cholesterol and as a preventive measure against the development of cardiovascular disease. She continued to take the cholesterol medication until April 2013. 

In October 2002, just two months after beginning treatment with Lipitor, Butler was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. As a result, she now has to submit to regular testing of her blood glucose levels, eat a restrictive diet and rely on diabetes medication. She also has a much higher chance of developing heart disease, blindness, neuropathy and kidney disease. As a result, Butler is facing significant costs for the continuous medical treatment and constant medical monitoring that that type-2 diabetes requires. 

Until February 2012, Pfizer had not issued any warnings concerning the affects Lipitor had on changes in blood sugar levels. According to the Lipitor lawsuit, Pfizer began changing the label at the request of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) after a comprehensive review was completed by the FDA’s Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products in August 2011. 

Pfizer added a warning to the Lipitor labels in early 2012 saying that the class of drugs that Lipitor belonged to was linked to an increase in glucose levels. However, the label still fails to warn patients that the cholesterol medication can lead to Lipitor type-2 diabetes.

“Despite its knowledge of data indicating that Lipitor use is causally related to the development of type-2 diabetes and/or blood glucose levels diagnostic for type-2 diabetes, Pfizer promoted and marketed Lipitor as safe and effective for persons such as Plaintiff throughout the United States, including this judicial district,” the Lipitor lawsuit states.  

Lipitor is in the class of drugs known as statins that was developed in the mid-1990s by Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research, which is a division of the Warner-Lambert Company. Warner-Lambert made a co-marketing agreement with Pfizer regarding Lipitor not long after the FDA approved the drug for marketing in the United States. In the summer of 2000, Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert including all rights to Lipitor.

The Louisiana woman is charging Pfizer with failure to warn, negligence, breach of warranty, and fraud. She is seeking general, compensatory and special damages and any other relief the court thinks is appropriate. 

Butler’s Lipitor diabetes lawsuit is Gladys R. Butler v. Pfizer Inc., Case No. 2:13-cv-06075-SRD-KWR, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. 

If you or someone you know was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes after taking Lipitor, legal options may be available to you. Learn more and get a free legal consultation regarding a claim’s eligibility at the Lipitor Diabetes Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Experienced legal professionals have access to medical experts to assess whether or not Lipitor played a role in your development of type-2 diabetes, so act now.