A Settlement has been reached with Defendants St. Joseph Health System, Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, St. Jude Hospital, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Petaluma Valley Hospital Auxiliary, The Auxiliary of Mission Hospital Laguna Beach, The Auxiliary of Mission Hospital Mission Viejo, Saint Joseph Hospital of Orange, Saint Joseph Hospital of Eureka, and Redwood Memorial Hospital of Fortuna (collectively, “SJHS” or “Defendants”) regarding the accessibility of confidential medical information on the Internet.
The underlying lawsuit, St. Joseph Health System Medical Information Cases, JCCP 4716, is presently pending in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Orange.
Prior to reaching the Settlement, the Plaintiffs and SJHS engaged in extensive discovery, including depositions of over twenty (20) witnesses and experts, written interrogatories and requests for production of documents.
Plaintiffs and SJHS have reviewed tens of thousands of documents and have diligently litigated the facts of this case for over three (3) years. Prior to reaching the Settlement, Plaintiffs and SJHS engaged in multiple mediation sessions with the Hon. Edward A. Infante (Ret.).
In this action, Plaintiffs allege that SJHS violated certain laws relating to the confidentiality of medical information when certain information of almost 32,000 patients of SJHS hospitals was publicly accessible on the Internet between approximately February 2011 and February 2012. The information included diagnoses lists, active medication lists, lab results, medication allergies, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, smoking status, advance directive status, and demographic information, including spoken language, ethnicity, race, gender and birth date, although the same type of information was not necessarily accessible for each patient.
SJHS denies that their actions violated the law and deny any liability. The Court has not decided whether SJHS did anything wrong.
The Court has preliminarily approved the Settlement which affects your legal rights and you have a choice to make now.
The Settlement provides (1) a total cash payment of $7,500,000 to cover payments to Participating Settlement Class Members (which means the settlement payment to you, if you decide not to opt out, would be at least $241.35), (2) potential reimbursement of certain identity theft losses and out-of-pocket expenses if it can be shown they are more likely than not the result of the alleged disclosure, (3) enhanced security measures at SJHS with an estimated value of at least $13,000,000, (4) protection of Participating Settlement Class Members who are minors, and (5) attorneys’ fees, costs and incentive awards to the class representatives, to be paid separately by SJHS.
Who’s Eligible
Class Members of the data breach settlement include all patients of St. Joseph Health System whose confidential medical information was made publicly accessible on the internet by St. Joseph at any time between Feb. 1, 2011 and Feb. 28, 2012.
Potential Award
A cash payment of at least $241.35.
Class Members may also file a claim to seek reimbursement of certain identity theft losses and out-of-pocket expenses related to the data breach.
Proof of Purchase
No proof is required to receive a cash payment of at least $241.35. Class Members will automatically receive this payment if the data breach settlement becomes final.
Class Members who file a claim for reimbursement of identity theft losses and out-of-pocket expenses must provide documentation of their expenses.
Claim Form Deadline
Out-of-Pocket Expenses Claim Filing Deadline: 90 days after the Effective Date of the class action settlement (TBD)
Identity Theft Losses Filing Deadline: April 1, 2017
Case Name
St. Joseph Health System Medical Information Cases, Case No. JCCP 4716, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Orange
Final Hearing
02/03/2016
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
St. Joseph Health System Data Breach Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 43356
Providence, RI 02940-3356
1-877-219-9782
Class Counsel
Jeremiah Frei-Pearson
FINKELSTEIN BLANKINSHIP FREI-PEARSON & GARBER LLP
Daniel S. Robinson
ROBINSON CALCAGNIE ROBINSON SHAPIRO DAVIS INC.
Defense Counsel
GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP
