Stanford Hospital & Clinics Faces $20M Lawsuit for Data Breach

A patient has filed a $20 million class-action complaint against Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Hospital & Clinics for the data breach of 20,000 patients' records that was reported in early September, according to a Mercury News report.

Shana Springer filed the complaint on Sept. 28 in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of all patients who visited the emergency room from March 1, 2009-Aug. 31, 2009 and were thus affected by the breach. Ms. Springer is seeking $1,000 per patient and other penalties, damages and attorney fees.

She alleges the hospital violated the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, a state law that requires medical providers to safeguard patient information and prohibits its disclosure without written consent. In a statement, Stanford said it will "vigorously defend" the lawsuit, claiming the subcontractor Multi-Specialty Collection Services is to blame, not the hospital.

Related Articles on Data Breaches:

Stanford Hospital Data Breach Affects More Than 20k Patients
Data Breach Affects 500 Members of Blue Cross Affiliate First Priority Life Insurance

Florida Hospital Data Breach Affects More Than 2k ED Patients


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