Lipitor Lawsuits Mount, as Bernstein Liebhard LLP Notes Consolidation of Lipitor Diabetes Claims in Illinois Federal Court

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Our Firm has heard from numerous patients who took Lipitor and later developed Type 2 diabetes, and we anticipate a large number of filings.

New York, New York (PRWEB) October 11, 2013

As Lipitor lawsuit claims (http://www.lipitorlawsuitcenter.com/) continue to mount in courts throughout the U.S., Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes that all current and future Lipitor diabetes claims filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois have been consolidated for the purposes of discovery and other pretrial proceedings. According to an Order issued by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Reagan, all of the Lipitor lawsuits pending in the Southern District of Illinois involve similar allegations that Pfizer Inc. failed to provide patients with adequate warnings regarding the cholesterol-lowering drug’s association with new-onset Type 2 diabetes. (Hines v.Pfizer Inc., No. 13-404 (S.D. Ill.)

Court documents indicate that, at this time, only three Lipitor diabetes lawsuits are pending in the Southern District of Illinois. However, in a petition filed with the court that sought the consolidation of the cases, attorneys for one of those plaintiffs asserted that there are, "hundreds of cases under review, with a significant number of cases potentially appropriate for filing in the Southern District of Illinois.”

“Our Firm has heard from numerous patients who took Lipitor and later developed Type 2 diabetes, and we anticipate a large number of filings. A consolidated proceeding such as the one established in Illinois will allows Lipitor lawsuits to move forward efficiently,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is currently offering free Lipitor lawsuit consultations to anyone who may have been harmed by this medication.

Lipitor Diabetes Allegations
The Lipitor diabetes litigation has been growing since February 2012, when the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) mandated that Pfizer add new warnings to the Lipitor label regarding a potential risk of new-onset diabetes in patients who took the statin. The FDA took action after a study published in JAMA: Internal Medicine reported that post-menopausal women treated with the statin may be at an increased risk for developing the disease.*

Since then, evidence linking Lipitor use with diabetes has mounted. In May 2013, the British Medical Journal study also reported an association between Lipitor and diabetes, finding that patients who took the drug had a 22 percent increased risk of new-onset diabetes.**

In his October 7th Order, Judge Reagan found that consolidation of the Lipitor lawsuits pending in the Southern District of Illinois would promote efficiency and judicial economy and will avoid inconsistent rulings. He also noted that 14 similar Lipitor diabetes claims had already been consolidated for pretrial proceedings in U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina.

Court records indicate that in August, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) rejected a request by plaintiffs to consolidate all Lipitor diabetes lawsuits in a single federal court for pretrial proceedings. However, the JPML’s Order also noted the South Carolina consolidation, as well as the fact that Pfizer had expressed a willingness to work with plaintiffs' counsel to coordinate common discovery and pretrial matters. (In re Lipitor (Atorvastatin) Litigation, MDL No. 2459 (JPML))

Lipitor patients who developed Type 2 diabetes may be eligible to file a Lipitor lawsuit seeking compensation for all of their injury-related damages. Learn more about potential Lipitor side effects at Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website. To arrange for a free case review, please call 800-511-5092.

*archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1108676, JAMA Internal Medicine, January 2012
**bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2610, BMJ, May 2013

About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the “Plaintiffs’ Hot List,” recognizing the top plaintiffs’ firms in the country, for the past 10 consecutive years.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP
10 East 40th Street
New York, New York 10016
800-511-5092

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2013 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, 800-511-5092. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
info (at) consumerinjurylawyers (dot) com
http://www.lipitorlawsuitcenter.com/

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