Back in January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its safety advisories in regard to the anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor and other so-called “statin” drugs. It read, “People being treated with statins may have an increased risk of raised blood sugar levels and the development of Type 2 diabetes.”
Thousands of patients didn’t get the memo, the key safety information in which the manufacturer, Pfizer, allegedly either knew or should have known and should have promulgated. Patients who were diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes after using Lipitor have filed Lipitor lawsuits across the country seeking compensation for their diabetes injury.
The experienced attorneys at Reich & Binstock handle Lipitor lawsuits and are offering free consultations to patients who may be entitled to compensation. It costs nothing to have a skilled product liability attorney analyze the circumstances and determine whether there is a viable case for a Lipitor lawsuit.
Already, as of Aug. 15, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized 1,162 federal Lipitor lawsuits before one court for group pretrial management. That court is the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Although the statin class generally poses the diabetes risk, most of the litigation is centered on Lipitor. Rest assured that the injured patients and their counsel did not single out Lipitor. Lipitor singled out itself. Two observations: First, in terms of sales, Lipitor is the crown jewel of statins, so a lot of people took the big-profit drug. Second, Lipitor’s diabetes risk stands out. Canadian researchers, whose work was published in 2013 in the British Medical Journal, found that out of a statin diabetes risk ranging from 10 percent to 22 percent, generic Lipitor, atorvastatin, got the 22 percent.
Anyone who suspects that his or her diabetes is related to the use of Lipitor should seek counsel who will look into whether there is an entitlement to compensation for the life-changing suffering that diabetes bestows and for other losses.
Reich & Binstock may be reached at the toll-free number below or through an electronic message sent through the law firm’s web site. Since the firm operates in all 50 states, state of residency is not an issue in representation.