Former patients are joining a class action lawsuit filed against Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger asking for compensation after a data breach that affected around 1 million patients, according to a report from local NBC affiliate WJAC.
James Wierbowski, a former Geisinger patient, filed the lawsuit June 28, and is seeking "appropriate monetary relief," which could equal more than $5 million.
The lawsuit alleges Geisinger and Microsoft's Nuance failed to keep patient data secure after a former Nuance employee wrongly accessed personal health information of Geisinger patients. The lawsuit alleges Nuance failed to revoke the employee's access to its systems after the employee was terminated, which led to the breach last November. Geisinger identified the breach and notified Nuance shortly after the inappropriate access occurred. Nuance then removed the former employee's access.
The former employee was arrested on criminal charges. Law enforcement officials found a thumb drive in the former employee's car with information from his former employer, according to the lawsuit.
The health system began notifying more than 1 million patients last week of the breach. Geisinger delayed notifying patients at the request of law enforcement to avoid disrupting their investigation into the incident, according to the report.