Henry Ford Health Systems class action alleges company could have prevented data breach

Henry Ford data breach class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Brandi McKenzie filed a class action lawsuit against Henry Ford Health System. 
• Why: McKenzie claims Henry Ford failed to properly safeguard the information of its patients during a data breach that happened on or around March 30. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Michigan federal court. 

Henry Ford Health System failed to safeguard the personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) of its patients during a data breach occurring on or around March 30, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Brandi McKenzie claims Henry Ford’s alleged failure to safeguard its patients’ data led to it being compromised and disclosed to unauthorized individuals, causing “widespread” injury and damages to around 168,000 individuals. 

McKenzie argues Henry Ford also failed to promptly disclose the data breach to its patients by waiting until on or around July 14 to post a notification on its website, despite allegedly being aware of the incident since as early as May 16. 

“As a healthcare provider, Defendant is required to ensure that Private Information is not disclosed or disseminated to unauthorized third parties without its Patients’ express written consent,” the Henry Ford class action states. 

McKenzie wants to represent a nationwide class and Michigan subclass of individuals who had their private information accessed and/or acquired by an unauthorized third party as a result of the data breach against Henry Ford on or around March 30, 2023. 

Henry Ford data breach exposed patients’ ‘highly sensitive’ information, class action alleges

The Henry Ford data breach exposed patients’ “highly sensitive” private information, including names, genders, birthdates, ages, lab results, procedure types, diagnoses, telephone numbers and medical record numbers, among other things, according to the Henry Ford class action. 

McKenzie argues the exposure of this data will cause Henry Ford’s impacted patients to “face a lifetime risk of identity theft due to the nature of the information lost.” 

“Defendant’s failure to protect Patients’ Private Information has harmed and will continue to harm over tens of thousands of Defendants’ Patients, causing Plaintiff to seek relief on a class wide basis,” the Henry Ford class action states. 

McKenzie claims Henry Ford is guilty of negligence, negligence per se and breach of implied contract, and of violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. 

Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of actual, statutory, nominal and consequential damages for herself and all class members. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed against HCA Healthcare earlier this month by a pair of individuals arguing the healthcare company failed to properly safeguard and protect the data of its patients from a data breach it recently discovered. 

Were you affected by the Henry Ford Health System data breach? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jeff Ostrow, Kristen Lake Cardoso and Steven Sukert Kopelowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg Gilbert. 

The Henry Ford class action lawsuit is McKenzie, et al. v. Henry Ford Health System, Case No. 2:23-cv-11796, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

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