Yuma Regional Medical Center Hit with Class Action Over April 2022 Data Breach

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Yuma Regional Medical Center faces a proposed class action over an April 2022 data breach that allegedly compromised the personal and health information of current and former patients.

The 39-page lawsuit claims the Yuma, Arizona-based healthcare provider failed to adequately secure patients’ personally identifiable and protected health information, which in turn allowed cybercriminals to infiltrate its system between April 21 and 25, 2022. As a result, current and former patients’ names, Social Security numbers, demographic details and medical information were exposed to unauthorized third parties, the suit says.

According to the case, Yuma Regional Medical Center has failed to meet data security standards set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other state and federal statutes.

Per the lawsuit, those whose information was compromised in the incident now face a higher risk of identity theft, fraud and misuse of their sensitive data.

The suit says that although Yuma Regional Medical Center notified victims of the data breach in a letter dated June 9, 2022, patients remain “in the dark” concerning what data was stolen, what malware was used in the attack and what steps, if any, the defendant is taking to protect their information going forward.

“Representative Plaintiffs and Class Members are left to speculate as to the full impact of the Data Breach and how exactly Defendant intends to enhance its information security systems and monitoring capabilities so as to prevent further breaches,” the complaint reads.

The lawsuit argues that Yuma Regional Medical Center should have been aware of the risk of a data breach in light of recent high-profile cyberattacks within the healthcare industry. The defendant nevertheless failed to take appropriate steps to protect patients’ sensitive information, the suit alleges.

The case looks to represent anyone in the U.S. whose personally identifiable, protected health or financial information was exposed to unauthorized third parties as a result of the Yuma Regional Medical Center data breach that occurred between April 21 and 25, 2022. 

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