Five class-action lawsuits have been filed involving a data breach that affected as many as 4.2 million patients, at a time when hospitals are enduring an increase in legal action over cybersecurity, SC Media reported.
Independent Living Systems, a third-party managed care administrator, was hit with the suits after reporting a revised number of potential victims March 14, according to the March 22 story. That marked the largest healthcare breach reported so far in 2023.
The legal complaints are part of a larger trend of law firms increasingly launching "investigations" to identify "victims" in the wake of posted data breaches, with hospitals experiencing the biggest rise in such legal filings, the news outlet reported.
The lawsuits against Independent Living Systems claim the firm failed to adequately protect patient data, according to SC Media. The stolen data, which ended up being sold on the dark web, may have included Social Security numbers, financial accounts and medical record numbers. The company said in its notice that it wasn't aware of any fraud or identity theft resulting from the breach.