Presbyterian Healthcare Services Agrees to Settle Email Breach Lawsuit

Posted By Steve Alder on May 7, 2024

Presbyterian Healthcare Services has proposed a settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit that was filed by patients whose protected health information was compromised in a 2019 phishing attack. In June 2019, the New Mexico-based healthcare system discovered hackers had gained access to the email accounts of some of its employees when they responded to phishing emails. The email accounts contained the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, clinical information, and health plan information of 183,370 patients and health plan members.

A class action lawsuit was filed in response to the data breach that alleged Presbyterian Healthcare Services had failed to implement reasonable cybersecurity measures, did not follow industry-standard cybersecurity practices, and could have prevented the breach if those measures had been implemented. Presbyterian Healthcare Services did not agree with the allegations but has chosen to settle the lawsuit with no admission of wrongdoing or liability.

Under the terms of the settlement, individuals who were notified about the breach by Presbyterian Healthcare Services in 2019 can claim up to $5,750 as reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and losses incurred as a result of the data breach. They will also qualify for a year of complimentary credit monitoring services, which includes a $1 million identity theft insurance policy.

Claims of up to $750 can be submitted for ordinary out-of-pocket expenses such as credit costs, communication charges, and up to 3 hours of lost time at $15 per hour. Claims may also be submitted for up to $5,000 to cover extraordinary losses, which are documented, unreimbursed losses to identity theft and fraud.