A total of 17 new lawsuits were filed on July 14th, 2006 in the New York State Supreme Court. The suits were from California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. Pfizer’s Lipitor has successfully become the best-selling drug in the world with its effective marketing scheme, with sales over $15 billion in 2005 alone. The cholesterol-reducing drug Lipitor has marketed itself as a safe, effective drug when in reality it has damaged numerous people with serious problems such as nerve damage and memory loss. These dangerous side effects were not mentioned in the advertisement and distribution of Lipitor, placing the manufacturer Pfizer at fault.
One of the victims of the defective drug was Mr. Dennis Hickie, 52, a former professional soccer player in the U.K. and current vice president of a publicly-traded company. He currently resides in Long Island, New York. After suffering high cholesterol for years, Mr. Hickie started taking Lipitor to better his health. According to Mr. Hickie, “The neuropathy and myopathy caused by the lengthy exposure to Lipitor has created such damage in my hands, elbows, shoulders, knees and ankles that exercise is excruciatingly painful and impossible to carry out… In reality, I have little strength for anything above opening an envelope… As an ex-professional athelete, there is nothing more soul destroying than NOT being able to enjoy all the benefits of being in peak physical and mental condition.”
Lydia Fish, widow to the late U.S. congressman Hamilton Fish of New York, also suffers from side effects of Lipitor. A Port Jervis, New Jersey resident, she is a former political activist who once ran for public office. She started taking Lipitor in 1999 to help with her cholesterol. She has since suffered irreversible medical complications such as peripheral system damage, short-term memory loss and depression. Even after discontinuing the medication, forgetfulness, bad balance, and alteration of sensation in her extremeties continues to plague her. Doctors eventually diagnosed her with cerebral atrophy, with no evidence suggesting dementia from Alzheimer’s disease. Jennifer Beykirch, Ms. Fish’s oldest daughter, says that she is “100 percent confident that Lipitor has caused my mother’s significant memory loss and has totally debilitated her…. Before taking the drug she was vibrant and always active, but she doesn’t have a life anymore. Sadly, it took us a long time to connect the dots, during which time she has taken numerous other medications to try and correct her dysfunction. But we have no doubt as to the source of her decline: Lipitor has ruined her life.”
The victim list continues to include many more of these tragic stories, including a professional airline pilot in Virginia who claims the damages he has contracted from Lipitor use have disabled him for flight services. He begun taking the statin to lower his cholesterol, in order to pass an employment physical for the airline industry.
