HCA data breach class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiffs identified as M.R. and D.S. filed a class action lawsuit against HCA Healthcare Inc.
- Why: M.R. and D.S claim HCA failed to properly safeguard and protect the private information of its patients during a data breach the company discovered in July.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Missouri federal court.
- What are my options: Norton LifeLock carries many options when it comes to data security.
HCA Healthcare failed to properly safeguard and protect the personal health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII) of its patients during a data breach discovered in July, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs identified as M.R. and D.S. claim HCA betrayed its patients’ trust by allowing their PHI and PII to be disclosed to unauthorized individuals, despite allegedly being required to maintain the “strictest privacy and confidentiality,” to protect it.
“The disclosure of the PHI and PII at issue was a result of the Defendants’ inadequate safety and security protocols governing PHI and PII,” the HCA class action states.
M.R. and D.S want to represent a nationwide class and Missouri class of individuals who were patients of HCA since July 1, 2013 and who have had their PHI or PII disclosed by the company to unauthorized third parties.
HCA improperly handled, inadequately protected patient data, says class action
Information exposed in the data breach — which was discovered by HCA on or about July 5 — included patient names, addresses, telephone numbers, birthdates, genders, and appointment dates, among other things, according to the HCA class action.
M.R. and D.S argue the information was exposed as a result of HCA improperly handling and inadequately protecting it, as well as it allegedly being “readily able to be copied by anyone with nefarious intent and not kept in accordance with basic security protocols.”
Defendants flagrantly disregarded Plaintiffs’ and the other Class Members’ privacy and property rights by intentionally, willfully and recklessly failing to take the necessary precautions required to safeguard and protect Plaintiffs’ and the other Class Members’ PHI and PII from unauthorized disclosure,” the HCA class action states.
M.R. and D.S claim HCA is guilty of negligence per se, negligent training and supervision, and breach of fiduciary duty of confidentiality, among other things, as well as violating the Missouri Merchandising Practice Act.
In other data breach news, Microsoft disclosed a breach of its email systems earlier this month that it said impacted consumers — along with at least one unnamed federal government agency — with accounts on its Microsoft 365 email cloud environment.
Were you impacted by the HCA Healthcare data breach? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Maureen M. Brady and Lucy McShane of McShane & Brady, LLC.
The HCA data breach class action lawsuit is M.R., et al. v. HCA Healthcare Inc., et al., Case No. 4:23-cv-00496, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
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52 thoughts onHCA Healthcare class action alleges organization failed to safeguard patient data
I just received a letter from HCA stating my personal information was exposed by an employee on several different dates
Yes, worse than I ever would imagine.
I got a letter saying that. And my credit score is shot. I have 2 accounts in collections that are not mine.
I got a piece of mail months prior stating i was affected
In the past couple of years I would get notified about data breaches. I
Would there be a way to see if I am part of this class action suit? I do remember a letter stating personal health information was breached. I don’t know if I would be able to find that notice. I never had to put fraud alerts before, but, few years ago I had to. Frustrating damn the hackers!