[BreachExchange] Florida Orthopaedic Institute faces class-action lawsuit over data breach

[Destry Winant]

https://www.wfla.com/8-on-your-side/better-call-behnken/florida-orthopaedic-institute-faces-class-action-lawsuit-over-data-breach/

 One of Florida’s largest orthopedic practices is under fire after
announcing a data breach of patient information.

Mega law firm Morgan & Morgan has filed a class-action lawsuit,
alleging Florida Orthopaedic Institute didn’t do enough to protect
patients’ personal data and didn’t act fast enough when it discovered
the breach.

“There have been many, many breaches of other hospitals and healthcare
deliveries, which have sent a warning bell to protect this
information, and that wasn’t done in this case,” said Attorney John
Yanchunis, who filed the lawsuit.

Florida Orthopaedic Institute sent letters, dated June 18, to current
and former patients, potentially thousands, alerting them of the
breach and offering free credit monitoring.

Yanchunis says the monitoring is only for a year and doesn’t do nearly
enough to help victims. The lawsuit seeks $99 million.

Florida Orthopaedic Institute warns patients of potential data breach

Florida Orthopaedic Institute was unavailable for comment but a letter
from the provider to patients states that “there is no evidence that
your information was misused.”

Yanchunis points out that the point of stealing personal data is to
misuse it, and says the threat will linger for years to come,
especially for younger patients, many of whom are minors.

The lawsuit calls into issue how quickly the practice responded.

“They detected this in early April, consumers weren’t notified until
the middle of June. Certainly, this information was in the hands of
cybercriminals and was being used maliciously,” Yanchunis said.

If you receive a letter from FOI about this breach, keep in mind that
you have until Sept. 20 to enroll in the credit monitoring offered