CentroMed Facing 2 Class Action Lawsuits Over 350,000-Record Data Breach
El Centro Del Barrio, dba CentroMed in San Antonio, TX, is facing at least two class action lawsuits over a June 2023 cyberattack in which hackers gained access to the personal and protected health information (PHI) of 350,000 patients.
The attack was detected on June 12, 2023, and the forensic investigation confirmed unauthorized access to IT systems first occurred on June 9, 2023. The information accessed in the attack included names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, financial account information, medical record numbers, health insurance plan member IDs, and claims data. The affected individuals were notified by mail on August 11, 2023.
CentroMed patients Jasmine Grace and Dawn Leal have each taken legal action against CentroMed over the impermissible disclosure of their personal information and allege CentroMed was negligent for failing to properly secure and safeguard their personally identifiable information, which is now in the hands of cybercriminals.
They both claim they face an imminent, ongoing, and substantial risk of identity theft and fraud and have had to invest considerable time and money into protecting themselves against the misuse of their personal information. The lawsuits also take issue with the length of time it took CentroMed to issue notification letters to patients. CentroMed took two months to issue notifications, although this was within the time allowed under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Breach Notification Rule.
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The lawsuits allege the defendant violated HIPAA by failing to adequately protect their data and allege negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment. Jasmine Grace’s lawsuit was filed in District Court in San Antonio, and she is represented by attorney Samantha Holbrook. The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages. Dawn Leal’s lawsuit was filed in San Antonio federal court by attorney Joe Kendall and seeks $5 million in damages.
