$1.1 Million Settlement Reached in Columbus Regional Healthcare System Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit

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Columbus Regional Healthcare System has agreed to pay more than $1.1 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit that claimed negligent cybersecurity was to blame for a May 2023 data breach.

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The $1,175,000 deal received preliminary approval from the court earlier this month and covers roughly 132,800 people whose personal information may have been exposed in the Columbus Regional data breach.

Court documents state that those covered by the settlement should expect to receive notice of the deal via mail or email.

To receive Columbus Regional settlement benefits, class members must submit a valid, timely claim form online when the official settlement website goes live.

ClassAction.org will update this page when the official settlement website is launched and claim forms can be filed.

Per court documents, class members can file a claim form to receive up to $5,000 in reimbursement for out-of-pocket losses incurred as a result of the data breach. Claim forms must be submitted with documentation of these losses, court documents state.

Eligible individuals can also submit a claim to receive a pro-rated cash payout from the Columbus Regional data breach settlement.

The court will decide whether to grant final approval to the terms of the Columbus Regional settlement during a forthcoming hearing, the date of which is not yet available in public court records. Settlement payouts are typically issued to eligible class members after a deal is ultimately approved and any appeals are resolved.

Also as part of the deal, Columbus Regional has agreed to make improvements to its cybersecurity protocols, court documents share.

One class action lawsuit initially filed against Columbus Regional in January 2024 claimed that the North Carolina healthcare system’s failure to properly safeguard patients’ data allowed hackers to access its computer network between May 19 and May 21, 2023.

According to the case, the cyberattack compromised data such as names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, medical information and health insurance details.

Head to ClassAction.org’s settlements page for a complete list of data breach settlements.