PITTSBURGH – Seven law firms have pounced on a recent data breach at a Pittsburgh medical office, filing five class action lawsuits in the weeks after.
The cases target Pittsburgh Gastroenterology Associates, the victim of a ransomware attack that alerted patients their personally identifying information and health records were compromised in August.
The group Sinobi announced it had obtained PGA’s data on Aug. 20. PGA is alleged to have failed to take sufficient measures to protect its patients’ sensitive information.
“Hackers targeted and obtained Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ private information because of its value in exploiting and stealing the identities of Plaintiff and Class Members,” one lawsuit says.
“The present and continuing risk to victims of the data breach will remain for their respective lifetimes.”
It is likely the cases will be consolidated, leaving an Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas judge to determine which firms should lead the litigation.
Filing cases in pairs so far are: Shub Johns & Holbrook of Conshohocken and Ahdoot & Wolfson of Radnor; Saltz Mongeluzzi of Philadelphia and Strauss Borrelli of Chicago; Kopelowitz Ostrow of Bal Cynwyd and Milberg Coleman of Miami; and the Kopelowitz firm and Shamis & Gentile of Miami.
Saltz Mongeluzzi and Strauss Borrelli filed the first case, which could give them a leg up on a leadership position that would entitle them to more fees from any settlement or verdict.
Their case cites PGA’s privacy policy, which says it is legally required to maintain the confidentiality of personal health information.
“Despite recognizing its duty to do so, on information and belief, PGA has not implemented reasonabl(e) cybersecurity safeguards or policies to protect its patients’ sensitive information or supervised its IT or data security agents and employees to prevent, detect and stop breaches of its systems,” the suit says.
The ransomware attack announced by Sinobi breached 22 U.S. organizations. The suit says Sinobi encrypts stolen files then requests a ransom payment in exchange for it.
