Wash. Woman Files Premera Blue Cross Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit

Washington resident Lynne B. is suing her health insurance provider, Premera Blue Cross, for allegedly failing to protect vital personal information. Lynne claims in the class action lawsuit that Premera failed to immediately notify her and other policyholders of a massive cyber attack in 2014, which exposed the information of millions of Premera insurance customers.

Lynne and many other Premera Blue Cross policyholders claim that due to the defendant’s insufficient security system, the data breach occurred, which compromised the medical and financial information of 11 million policyholders. This data breach has reportedly affected current and former customers of Premera Blue Cross and its subsidiaries by compromising various personal information that has made the policyholders vulnerable to identity theft.

For this Premera data breach lawsuit, Lynne is taking legal action against Premera on several counts of negligence and failure to warn. Despite the fact that the data breach occurred last year and being aware of it since Jan. 29, 2015, she alleges the defendant did not disclose the data breach until March 17, 2015. While Premera is being criticized for not being aware of the attack earlier, the primary allegations the company is facing in the data breach class action lawsuit is that it failed to protect its customers, and failed to take a variety of precautions and safety updates to prevent this.

As a direct result of the data breach, Lynne and other Premera policyholders are vulnerable against identity theft, fraudulent medical care, insurance fraud, and crimes involving stolen personal identification information, the Premera class action lawsuit alleges. Additionally, the compromised Social Security numbers allow for the potential for identity thieves to gain access to the policyholders’ property and assets. Therefore, according to the data breach class action lawsuit, Premera failed in its duty to protect this vital personal information of its policyholders, and is now vulnerable to potential negligence charges.

Lynne filed the class action lawsuit against Premera, alleging the insurer failed in its duty to protect the personal data of its policyholders. The primary charges named in the data breach lawsuit are negligence, failure to warn, and failing to adequately safeguard personal identification information.

Overview of Premera Data Breach

The cyber attack allegedly occurred on May 5, 2014, when Premera’s Information Technology (IT) system had been attacked by hackers, which resulted in millions of former and current Premera policyholders’ information being stolen, along with Blue Cross Blue Shield policyholders who received medical treatment in Washington or Alaska or through the LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon. Premera announced that an additional 60,000 members were also compromised from the data breach. Individuals who had conducted business with Premera and provided them with personal information were allegedly also affected by the data breach.

Specifically, the hackers were reportedly able to access names, birth dates, email addresses, home addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, member identification numbers, bank account information, claims information, and other personal identification information. Premera has stated that an internal investigation revealed that the attack had compromised health records of customers, dating back as far back as 2002.

According to investigation records, the hackers had accessed the defendant’s IT system and had found the personal information of the policyholders, in an unencrypted form or had either unencrypted the information after obtaining vital access information. Medical records of individuals are high valuable sources of income for identity thieves and other underground criminals who participate in exchanges, because the stolen data can be used in insurance fraud, identity theft, and other crimes.

Feds Issue Warning Prior To Attack

It is important to note that before the cyber attack occurred, the federal government had warned Premera that its online security systems were vulnerable to data breaches. In fact several weeks before the attack, the Office of Personal Management had audited the defendant’s IT systems, and found them to be insufficient and vulnerable to cyber hacks. Despite the severity of the warning, Premera did nothing to improve their cyber security, which made themselves and their policyholders vulnerable.

While Premera did send out notification letters to affected individuals on March 17, 2015, some reported not receiving the letters until April 20. The letters informed the customers of the data hack, and had offered them two years worth of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection from Experian. However, these actions failed to appease many of the affected policyholders.

This Premera Data Breach Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-00523-MJP, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Seattle Division.

Join a Free Premera Blue Cross Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were insured by Premera and/or its affiliates between 2002 and Jan. 29, 2015, you may have a legal claim for compensation. This includes all individuals who fall into one of the following categories:

• Premera Blue Cross subscriber or applicant
• Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska subscriber or applicant
• Vivacity applicant, customer, or member
• Connexion applicant, customer, or member
• Individuals “doing business” with Premera
• Members of other Blue Cross Blue Shield plans who sought treatment in Washington or Alaska
• Members of LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon and other Premera subsidiaries

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