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Shields data breach class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: James Buechler, Julie Colby, John Kennedy, Sharon Pimental, and Cindy Tapper filed a class action lawsuit against Shields Health Care Group Inc.
- Why: Buechler, Colby, Kennedy, Pimental, and Tapper claim Shields failed to prevent a March 2022 data breach that exposed the sensitive information of around two million of its patients.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts federal court.
Shields Health Care Group allowed third-party criminal hackers to gain access to its computer systems during a March 2022 data breach that exposed the sensitive information of around two million patients, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs James Buechler, Julie Colby, John Kennedy, Sharon Pimental, and Cindy Tapper claim Shields was made aware of the data breach in late March but allegedly failed to follow the law by not disclosing it within 60 days.
“Notably, Shields failed to notify Plaintiffs of the Data Breach for more than two months from its discovery of the same,” states the Shields class action.
The group of patients argue further that Shields had collected their personally identifiable information and protected health information “in confidence” and had a duty to “secure, maintain, protect, and safeguard” it.
“Plaintiffs’ and Class Members’ sensitive and private personal information ‒ entrusted to Defendant, its officials, and agents ‒ was compromised, unlawfully accessed, and stolen due to the Data Breach,” states the Shields class action.
Buechler, Colby, Kenny, Pimental, and Tapper want to represent a nationwide class and subclasses of Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire consumers who had their private information exposed during the Shields data breach in March 2022.
Shields data breach a ‘devastating privacy intrusion,’ say patients
Sensitive information exposed during the data breach included names, addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers, medical record numbers, and insurance information, among other things, according to the Shields class action.
Patients argue Shields alleged failure to protect their information during the data breach was also a “devastating privacy intrusion” that has increased the risk of their identities being exposed.
“Armed with the Private Information accessed in the Data Breach, data thieves have data from Shields to commit a variety of crimes,” states the Shields class action.
Buechler, Colby, Kenny, Pimental, and Tapper claim Shields is guilty of breach of confidence, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent misrepresentation, among other things, and in violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, among other things.
Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of statutory, treble, and punitive or exemplary damages for themselves and all class members.
In another data breach involving a healthcare provider, Michigan Medicine revealed last October that it was the victim of a data breach that it said possibly exposed the private health information of almost 34,000 patients.
Have you been impacted by a data breach? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Block & Leviton LLP, George Gesten McDonald PLLC, Lynch Carpenter LLP, Barrack Rodos & Bacine, Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman PC, Finkelstein Blankenship Freipearson & Garber LLP, Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC, Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group, Scott + Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, Sweeney Merrigan Law LLP, and Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLC.
The Shields data breach class action lawsuit is Biscan, et al. v. Shields Health Care Group Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-10901, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
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13 thoughts onShields Health Care Group class action alleges health care company hid data breach
If I sign up for the credit monitoring service that Shields is offering, will it exempt me from joining the class action lawsuit?
How do I sign up my entire family who just received this letter from shields 2 weeks ago
I got a letter from shields stating my ss number may have been impacted how do I get into this class action lawsuit??
And my minor child was in for very private and very serious reasons and now all her info is out there if they knew about this back in March of 2022 why am I just receiving a letter dated April 19th 2023 over a year later I could have been monitoring my child’s information this whole time.
My minor child was involved in the breach and I only found out today April 30, 2023 why they haven’t let me know before this is ridiculous but I just got a paper saying she was involved.
Yes I’ve received notices for myself and my grandson whom I have custody of
I received a letter for me and my three girls 😡
I too am a victim of Shields MRI data breech
Insetted In This Law Suit
I am a victim of the Shields MRI Breach. While preparing for Brain Surgery, which I underwent on 9/30/2021 in Boston, Ma, I had one or 2 MRI’s at The Shields Office on Granite Ave in Dorchester, Ma. As I was recovering, I was unable to use electronic devices and as a result was left in the dark as to the extent of the identity theft suffered. My personal information has been compromised and found on the dark web causing me an incredible amount of stress and anxiety.