United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley reaches agreement to settle data breach litigation

The Business Journal reports:

A class action settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley.

The case, pending in Fresno County Superior Court, stems from an Aug. 28, 2021 data breach where United Health Centers (UHC) patient information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, diagnosis information codes, financial account information and more was compromised by a third party.

The class-action complaint filed by Clovis resident and UHC patient Narek Avetisyan said the breach was caused by a ransomware attack by a cybergang called the Vice Society, believed to be based in Russia, according to public reporting from the cybersecurity community.

Read more at The Business Journal.

The notice of settlement, relevant documents, and instructions how to submit a claim can be found at the official settlement site: https://www.uhcofsjvdatabreach.com/. The site also provides information on the deadlines for submitting a claim or opting out of the settlement or objecting to it. In key part, the settlement provides the following benefits:

UHC will provide Settlement Class Members the following benefits under the Settlement: (1) the ability to immediately enroll in credit monitoring and identity restoration services for a period of three years (available to all persons potentially affected by the Data Security Incident, including persons who exclude themselves from the Settlement); (2) the opportunity for Non-Economic Loss claims of up to $500 per Settlement Class Member; and (3) reimbursement of documented Economic Losses up to $2,500.00 per Settlement Class Member, which: (a) are related to the Data Security Incident; (b) are not otherwise reimbursable by another third party; (c) are supported by required documentation; and (d) meets all requirements set forth in the Reimbursement Form and the Settlement Agreement.

Complete details regarding the Settlement benefits are available in the Settlement Agreement, which is available at www.UHCofSJVdatabreach.com.

Previous coverage of this incident on DataBreaches.net can be found at United Health Centers of San Joaquin Valley remains publicly silent after ransomware attack  and Three months after ransomware attack and two months after data was dumped, UHC has yet to notify patients in writing.