ZOLL class action claims med tech company failed to safeguard personal, protected health info

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ZOLL data breach class action overview:

• Who: An Arkansas man is suing medical technology company ZOLL. 
• Why: The plaintiff says the company’s negligence led to a data breach.
• Where: The ZOLL data breach class action was filed in a Massachusetts federal court

Medical technology company ZOLL was negligent in its storage of sensitive personal and health information, leading to a data breach, a new class action lawsuit alleges

Plaintiff Timothy C. Jemison filed the class action lawsuit against ZOLL Medical Corporation on March 17 in a Massachusetts federal court, alleging negligence. 

According to the lawsuit, ZOLL failed to safeguard personally identifying information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) that was entrusted to it in its capacity as a medical technology company. 

In January, hackers accessed ZOLL’s internal network which contained its customers’ sensitive PII and PHI, the lawsuit alleges.

ZOLL develops and markets medical devices and software, the lawsuit states. In providing its medical devices and services, ZOLL collects and stores sensitive PII and PHI for past and current customers.

“Despite acting, and marketing itself as a safe container for sensitive information, ZOLL failed to take precautions designed to keep that information secure,” Jemison alleges.

Breach affected more than one million consumers

On March 10, 2023, ZOLL announced that it had detected unusual activity on its internal network on January 28, 2023, and determined that it had experienced a cybersecurity incident which resulted in the disclosure of its customers’ PII and PHI. 

“The data that ZOLL exposed was highly sensitive, and includes names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers,” Jemison says. “The compromised data also allows individuals to infer that consumers used or considered use of a ZOLL product, disclosing health conditions.”

The data breach impacted over one million consumers in the United States, he says.

For over one month, ZOLL delayed acknowledging and giving notice of the data breach, the lawsuit states. “Defendant waited despite knowing that hackers accessed its internal network and that sensitive PII and PHI was compromised.”

As a result, the plaintiff is suing for negligence, breach of implied contract, and violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. He’s looking to represent a nationwide class of people who had their data exposed in the breach, plus an Arkansas subclass.

He seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Meanwhile, Dropbox, U.S. Bank, Bed Bath & Beyond, Verizon, Microsoft, Michigan Medicine and Advocate Aurora have all recently experienced data breaches that reportedly exposed the personally identifying information and/or private health information of consumers.  

What do you think of the allegations against ZOLL? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Gary S. Ishimoto, Mark S. Reich and Courtney E. Maccarone of Levi & Korsinsky LLP.

The Zoll class action lawsuit is Timothy C. Jemison et al., v. Zoll Medical Corporation, Case No. 1:23-cv-10598 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

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• Illinois Gastroenterology Group data breach class action settlement
• McDonald’s seeks ban to forbid confidential consumer information disclosure in voice data lawsuit
• 9M customers affected in AT&T data breach