Plaintiff In Lipitor Lawsuit Is Seeking To Have All Federal Claims Involving Allegations Of Type 2 Diabetes Consolidated In A Multidistrict Litigation In South Carolina Federal Court
Lipitor lawsuits are now being evaluated by Wright & Schulte LLC, an experienced personal injury law firm, on behalf of individuals who allegedly developed Type 2 diabetes due to their use of Lipitor. According to court documents, a Plaintiff in a Lipitor lawsuit filed a new motion with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) on October 10th that again asks to have all federal claims involving Type 2 diabetes allegations consolidated for pretrial proceedings, and transferred to a multidistrict litigation in U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina. (In re Lipitor (Atorvastatin) Litigation, MDL No. 2502 (JPML))
According to a recent report from Forbes, Lipitor was once the best-selling drug of all time. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) classifies Lipitor as a statin, a type of medication that lowers cholesterol in the body by blocking an enzyme in the liver. Lipitor is used to lower the risk for heart attack, stroke, certain types of heart surgery, and chest pain in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease such as age, smoking, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, or family history of early heart disease.
[forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2013/10/16/why-is-it-so-hard-to-predict-sales-of-new-drugs/, Forbes, October 16, 2013]
[fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm281817.htm, FDA, November 2011]
In February 2012, the FDA issued a drug safety communication regarding Lipitor and its potential to cause new-onset diabetes. The agency also ordered Pfizer, Inc. to change the Lipitor label to reflect this risk.
[fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm293101.htm, FDA, February 2012]
A number of studies have also found that Lipitor and other statins may have the potential to cause Type 2 diabetes. For example, a 2012 study published in JAMA: Internal Medicine one month before the FDA released its alert reported that post-menopausal women treated with statins may be at higher risk of developing new-onset diabetes. A study published in the British Medical Journal earlier this year found that patients who take Lipitor may face a 22 percent increased risk for developing diabetes.
[archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1108676, JAMA Internal Medicine, January 2012]
[bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2610, BMJ, May 2013]
Lipitor Lawsuits
According to the October 10th motion asking the JPML to reconsider the consolidation of federal Lipitor lawsuits, the number of claims involving diabetes allegations has increased considerably since the Panel denied a previous request this August. The motion also points out that all of the Lipitor lawsuits pending in federal courts around the country share common allegations of fact involving Pfizer’s testing, manufacturing and marketing of Lipitor, and the warnings it provided concerning the drug’s potential link to Type 2 diabetes. The motion asserts that the creation of a multidistrict litigation for Lipitor lawsuits will enable the “parties to coordinate document discovery and avoid multiple, unnecessary depositions of key witnesses.”
Lipitor patients who allegedly developed Type 2 diabetes while using this drug may be eligible to file their own Lipitor lawsuit. To learn more, or to arrange for a free legal consultation with an attorney at Wright & Schulte LLC, please visit yourlegalhelp.com.
About Wright & Schulte LLC
Wright & Schulte LLC, an experienced personal injury firm, is dedicated to the belief that America’s legal system should work for the people. Every day, the attorneys of Wright & Schulte LLC stand up for the rights of people who have been injured or wronged and fight tirelessly to ensure that even the world’s most powerful corporations take responsibility for their actions. If you’re looking for a law firm that will guarantee the aggressive and personal representation you deserve, please do not hesitate to contact Wright & Schulte LLC today. Free Lipitor lawsuit case evaluations are available through yourlegalhelp.com or by calling 1-800-399-0795.
