LabCorp Class Action Says Health Info Wasn’t Protected

A LabCorp class action claims that the medical laboratory company failed to protect patient information, resulting in a data breach.

In July 2019, LabCorp informed its customers that their personal information may have been compromised in a data breach.

Between Aug. 1, 2018 and March 30, 2019, an unauthorized user allegedly accessed consumer names, dates of birth, health insurance information, telephone numbers, and other personal information.

The data breach reportedly originated with a third party debt collector Retrieval-Masters. This company allegedly collected outstanding balances on behalf of LabCorp. LabCorp was reportedly made aware of the data breach in May 2019.

The LabCorp class action lawsuit claims that the company should have taken further measures to protect consumer information.

“The medical records and information accessed by the unauthorized user is considered protected health information, personal to Plaintiffs,” the LabCorp class action lawsuit claims. “Such records and information were entrusted to Defendant and were accessed and/or made accessible to unauthorized and/or unwanted third parties.”

Plaintiffs Amanda Hayhurst and Donnetta Huffman say that LabCorp had a duty to protect against anticipated cybersecurity threats and to safeguard consumer information.

However, instead of implementing strong preventative policies, the company allegedly stored consumer information in an “unprotected, unguarded, unsecured, and/or otherwise unreasonably protected electronic and/or physical location” which allowed a third party to access the data.

Because their personal information was compromised, LabCorp consumers are reportedly at risk for loan fraud, financial fraud, medical fraud, tax fraud, insurance fraud, and other types of fraudulent behavior.

To counteract these risks, consumers may be forced to utilize credit monitoring, credit freezes, and other protective actions. Some of these measures may even result in out-of-pocket costs, according to the LabCorp data breach class action.

“Plaintiffs and class members have spent and will continue to spend significant time monitoring their financial and medical accounts and identities for fraud and misuse,” the LabCorp class action lawsuit argues. “Plaintiffs and class members will need to continue to worry about these risks for years because of the potential lag time between the theft of the sensitive information and its use.”

Hayhurst and Huffman also claim that LabCorp should have informed consumers of the data breach as soon as they discovered it in May 2019. Because the company allegedly waited months to inform consumers, their customers had to play catch up with preventative measures.

The LabCorp data breach class action includes claims of breach of the duty of confidentiality, invasion of privacy, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, negligent supervision, and wanton misconduct.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of consumers whose personal information was compromised as a result of the LabCorp data breach. They also seek to represent a smaller Class of the same individuals based out of West Virginia.

The LabCorp class action lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, statutory penalties, other damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Steven R. Broadwater Jr. and Ruperto Y. Dumapit of Hamilton Burgess Young & Pollard PLLC.

The LabCorp Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Hayhurst, et al. v. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings d/b/a LabCorp, Case No. 5:19-cv-00590, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

The TCA AMCA Data Breach Investigation is now open! If you were a patient at LabCorp, Quest, or another lab, and received notice that you were affected, submit your information here.

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