Wellstar Health System & Cone Health Settle Pixel Lawsuits
Settlements have been agreed to resolve class action lawsuits against Wellstar Health System and Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Operating Corporation (Cone Health). The lawsuits stem from the defendants’ use of pixels and other website tracking tools, which are alleged to have resulted in impermissible disclosures of patient data to third parties such as Meta and Google.
Wellstar Health System Pixel Settlement
Wellstar Health System, a Marietta, Georgia-based health system with more than 400 care locations in the state, was sued over its use of tracking tools on its website that are alleged to have resulted in the disclosure of personally identifiable information and protected health information to third parties such as Alphabet Inc. (Google) and Meta Platforms (Facebook), without website users’ knowledge or consent.
The first lawsuit was filed on April 23, 2024, and an amended complaint was filed on August 2, 2024, adding three additional plaintiffs. The lawsuit – Doe v. Wellstar Health System, Inc. – is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The lawsuit asserted claims for invasion of privacy – intrusion upon seclusion, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract, breach of express contract, unjust enrichment, and violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The defendant denies all claims and contentions in the lawsuit and maintains that there was no wrongdoing. A settlement was agreed to by all parties to avoid the time, expense, and uncertainty of a trial and related appeals.
Wellstar Health System has agreed to establish a $4,500,000 settlement fund, from which attorneys’ fees and expenses, settlement administration costs, and service awards for the class representatives will be deducted. The remainder of the settlement fund will be divided equally among all class members who submit a valid claim. The class consists of individuals whose personally identifiable information and/or protected health information was disclosed to third parties via the tracking tools between February 19, 2020, and July 22, 2026. Any remaining settlement funds, such as from uncashed checks, will be distributed to the Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb.
Get The FREE
HIPAA Compliance Checklist
Immediate Delivery of Checklist Link To Your Email Address
Please Enter Correct Email Address
Your Privacy Respected
HIPAA Journal Privacy Policy
The deadline for objection and opting out is October 26, 2026. Claims must be submitted by November 10, 2026, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for December 1, 2026.
Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Operating Corporation (Cone Health) Pixel Settlement
Greensboro, North Carolina-based defendants The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Operating Corporation, d/b/a Cone Health, and The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, d/b/a Cone Health, were sued over the use of tracking tools such as pixels, which had been added to their public website without the knowledge or consent of website users. The lawsuit alleged that the use of the tracking code resulted in disclosures of users’ confidential health information and protected health information to third parties such as Alphabet Inc (Google) and Meta Platforms (Facebook).
The lawsuit, Singh v. The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Operating Corp., et al., is pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The lawsuit asserted claims for violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, breach of express contract, breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, breach of implied contract, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment. The defendants maintain that there was no wrongdoing; however, a settlement was agreed by all parties to avoid the costs, delays, and uncertainties of continued litigation.
Cone Health has agreed to establish a $1,765,000 settlement fund, which will be used to pay reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, settlement administration costs, and service awards for the class representatives. After those costs have been deducted, the net settlement fund will be distributed equally among the class members. The value of each cash payment will depend on the number of valid claims received.
The settlement class consists of all individuals who accessed the MyChart patient portal on the defendants’ website between September 1, 2016, and November 3, 2022, as well as any individual who completed a submission form on the defendants’ website between the same dates. The settlement has received preliminary approval from the court. The deadline for opting out and objecting to the settlement is October 5, 2025. Claims must be submitted by October 5, 2026, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for November 5, 2026.
