A cyberattack in early 2023 targeted Commonwealth Health Physician Network-Cardiology (CHPNC) in Scranton, Pennsylvania, exposing the private data of nearly 182,000 heart patients.
Now, according to a new report from The Times-Tribune in Scranton, some of those patients have filed a class-action lawsuit in Lackawanna County Court alleging that CHPNC was not prepared for such an event and waited much too long to act.
One of the primary complaints appears to be the fact that CHPNC, also known as Great Valley Cardiology, waited nearly two months to tell patients that their private data—including names, social security numbers and even credit card information—had been compromised.
“Great Valley Cardiology’s failure to timely notify the victims of its data breach meant that plaintiff and class members were unable to immediately take affirmative measures to prevent or mitigate the resulting harm,” according to the lawsuit filed by attorney Andrew W. Ferich.
The class-action lawsuit’s lead plaintiff is Michele Jarrow, a CHPNC patient from Olyphant, Pennsylvania. The Times-Tribune reported that Jarrow is listed by name as one patient who found out her personal information was “found on the dark web.” Now, according to the lawsuit, Jarrow may need to invest in significant security measures for the rest of her life.
“Once personal information is exposed, there is virtually no way to ensure that the exposed information has been fully recovered or contained against future misuse,” according to the lawsuit.
CHPNC’s health system, Commonwealth Health, is not commenting on the lawsuit.
The original story, which includes much more context, is available here or at the link below:
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.