Banner Health Data Breach Class Action Filed by Former Patient

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A former Banner Health patient has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the health system company, claiming her personal information was compromised as a result of the recent data breach.

Banner Health, one of the largest healthcare providers in Arizona, recently announced that a cyber attack may have compromised the personal information of up to 3.7 million individuals.

The data breach was found to have initiated on June 17, 2016 on computer systems that process payment card data at certain Banner food and beverage locations.

Sensitive information such as payment cardholder name, number, expiration date and internal verification code were targeted.

Payment cards used at food and beverage outlets at certain Banner Health locations during the two-week period between June 23, 2016 and July 7, 2016 may have been affected.

Banner Health then learned that the cyber attack also expanded to provide hackers with access to patient information, health plan member and beneficiary information, as well as information about physician and healthcare providers.

Whether the breach was limited to the data of individuals who obtained healthcare at just the specified Banner locations or if it was more widespread remains unknown at this time.

Banner Health spokesman Bill Byron stated that the company “is still in the process of trying to determine what the scope is.”

Banner Health is based in Phoenix with locations in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming.

On Aug. 3, Banner Health announced to the public that the breach occurred and began to mail out official notices of the data breach.

Plaintiff Jane Reader received a letter from Banner informing her that her personal information, including her name, birthdate, address, physician’s name, clinical information, and Social Security number was involved in the data breach.

Because she was a Banner patient in approximately 2013-2014, Banner obtained her sensitive personal information.

According to Reader, the Banner data breach has compromised her personal data and she is now at a heightened risk for future identity theft.

Reader is seeking to represent a nationwide Class of tens of millions of individuals whose personal information was compromised as a result of the Banner data breach, an Arizona subclass, and an Arizona Contract Class consisting of all patients, health plan members, and healthcare providers in Arizona who were affected by the data breach.

She is requesting injunctive relief requiring Banner to implement and maintain adequate security practices and to comply with laws and standards designed to prevent, detect, and mitigate this type of breach along with restitution, damages, and other relief.

Reader’s complaint comes on the heels of another proposed class action lawsuit filed by another Arizona woman, Kendra Clark, a physician’s assistant who works within the Banner Health System and who similarly alleges Banner failed to implement reasonable security measures to protect customers’ private and personal information.

Reader is represented by Robert Mosier of Sanders Phillips Grossman LLC; and Eric H. Gibbs and David M. Berger of of Girard Gibbs LLP.

The Banner Health Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Jane Reader v. Banner Health, Case No. 2:16-cv-02994, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.