Nebraska Medicine Data Breach Class Action To Settle Soon

Nebraska Medicine has reached a preliminary settlement in the data breach lawsuit brought by some of the — 219,000 — patients affected by a 2020 ransomware and data theft incident which may have had their Social Security numbers and other identifying information accessed by illegal hackers.

John Chacon et al. v. Nebraska Medicine

The lawsuit was filed in response to a ransomware assault and subsequent data breach affecting roughly 219,000 patients that Nebraska Medicine announced in September 2020 and February 2021, respectively.

The Class includes anybody who got a letter notifying them that their personal information may have been illegally accessed due to the Nebraska Medicine data breach.

The Subclass members include those who received notification by letter that their Social Security or driver’s license number may have been accessed due to the incident.

Nebraska Medicine was sued in a class-action lawsuit, by lead plaintiffs John Chacon and Leonard Bradley, for allegedly failing to adequately secure Class Members’ personal information, allowing a third party to access the secured medical records and other sensitive data.

According to its website, the Nebraska Medicine health network serves metropolitan Omaha, Nebraska, and includes more than 1,000 doctors and over 40 health centers.

Types of Relief

Nebraska Medicine denies all of the allegations but has agreed to a settlement. The Court has not decided in either party’s favor.

Out-of-Pocket Expense Reimbursement

Class Members may be eligible for up to $300 in reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenditures incurred in connection with the data breach, including unreimbursed bank fees, long-distance or telephone charges, postage, and fuel for local travel.

However, Class Members must provide all required documentation with this form of claim.

Lost-Time Reimbursement

Additionally, Class Members may be reimbursed $20/hour for up to six hours of effort spent resolving the data breach, provided that at least one full hour was spent.

Class Members may be compensated for up to three hours of lost time if they can demonstrate that the time was spent dealing with the data breach and give a documented description of how the time was spent dealing with the breach.

Furthermore, class members may be compensated for up to three hours of lost time provided they present documentation demonstrating the time spent — such as employment records indicating time off work due to the incident.

Claims for reimbursement of lost time can be combined with claims for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses and are limited to a maximum amount of $300. Any claim for time lost in excess of three hours should be accompanied by documentation.

Extraordinary Loss Reimbursement

This kind of claim, which is limited to $300 per Class Member, compensates for actual, unreimbursed, recorded monetary losses between August 27, 2020, and the claim deadline.

These claims cannot be covered by another category of the settlement.

The Class Member must provide documentation demonstrating a reasonable attempt to avoid or recover the loss, including identity theft insurance and exhausting credit monitoring.

Credit Monitoring Subclass Members

Members of the Credit Monitoring Subclass will automatically receive an additional year of credit monitoring services.

This is in addition to any credit monitoring that Nebraska Medicine or the University of Nebraska Medical Center may have previously offered in the aftermath of the data breach. In addition, this benefit does not need a claim form.

John Chacon et al., Settlement 2021

Nebraska Medicine has committed to implement various security measures and enhancements in addition to the monetary relief, which will be effective until December 31, 2022.

A final fairness hearing for the settlement is scheduled for September 15, 2021.

The deadline to request an exemption or to object to the settlement is on September 7, 2021. Lastly, the deadline to file a claim is on October 4, 2021.

Editor’s Note on Nebraska Medicine Data Breach Settlement 2021:

This article is written to inform you of Nebraska’s class action settlement and the types of relief over the 2020 data breach.

Lead Plaintiff John Chacon’s Settlement:

Case Name & No.: John Chacon et al. v. Nebraska Medicine, Case No. 8:21-cv-00070-RFR-CRZ

Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska

Products/Services: Medical Workers’ Private Data

Allegations: Nebraska allegedly failed to secure the personal information of their patients, resulting in a third party gaining access to the company’s computer system and sensitive data

Status: On-going

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