A new Lipitor diabetes lawsuit has alleged the cholesterol medication can cause type-2 diabetes.

The Lipitor lawsuit was filed by Yvonne Buggage on behalf of herself and her husband, Byron Buggage. Mrs. Buggage began taking the drug in 2003, and continued taking the drug through 2013 under a doctor’s prescription.

She took the drug to lower her blood cholesterol levels, which are determined by diet and a person’s own physiology. This means that some individuals can maintain a healthy lifestyle and still have high levels of cholesterol. Based on this, Buggage took the drug. However, in 2009, she was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes.

The diagnosis of diabetes means that Buggage’s body has lost the ability to control the amount of glucose (sugar) in her blood. In diabetics, glucose can build up to toxic levels in the blood. Uncontrolled, this process can cause cellular damage throughout the body, resulting in organ damage, blindness, and necrosis (cellular death) which can lead to gangrene and sometimes require amputation.

Because diabetes is a lifelong condition, Buggage will require lifelong medical care to monitor the disease’s progress and help head off complications like those described. The chronic disease will also require that she adopt a new exercise regimen and daily medical monitoring and testing for the rest of her life.

Mrs. Buggage’s Lipitor lawsuit alleges that the heart disease medication caused her to develop diabetes, and that the makers of the drug were aware of this potential risk.

This Lipitor type-2 diabetes lawsuit joins others in a process called a multidistrict litigation or MDL. MDLs are a coordinated group of lawsuits, similar in some ways to class action lawsuits.

In both class action lawsuits and MDLs, a group of people allege that they have suffered similar harm from the same defendant. The main difference is that class action lawsuits start out as group lawsuits, while MDLs start out as individual lawsuits like the Buggage lawsuit. MDLs are more common in drug lawsuits like Lipitor lawsuits, because the individuals involved in drug lawsuits tend to have injuries that vary. This makes them unlikely to band together and coordinate a Lipitor class action lawsuit.

However, their individual Lipitor lawsuits are likely to be similar enough to be included in a single MDL. In the case of the Lipitor lawsuits, many make similar claims and are based on similar evidence, making them ideal for an MDL.

The Lipitor Lawsuit is Yvonne Buggage, et al., v. Pfizer Inc., et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-2090-RMG, filed within the MDL In Re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2502, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division.