Kaplan Fox Protects Consumers and Patients Who Have Been Victims of Data Breaches

A nationwide retailer is hacked and account numbers for millions of customers hit the black market for criminals to use to commit fraud. A hospital leaks its patients’ medical records on the Internet and reveals their diagnoses. Unfortunately, each of these scenarios has become increasingly common news in the digital age of big data.

So where does that leave consumers when their personal information is exposed or misused? While some states have specific laws requiring companies to protect your personal information from exposure, customers impacted by data breaches often have to go to court to obtain compensation for their losses and to ensure their data is adequately protected in the future. Our data breach lawyers have extensive experience representing consumers in class action cases alleging companies failed to properly secure their customers’ sensitive personal, account, and medical information.

What is a data breach?

The United States Department of Health and Human Services defines a data breach as a security incident in which sensitive, protected or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. Data breaches often occur when companies have not implemented sufficient cybersecurity standards to protect your valuable personal data from criminals. For example, a company may fail to properly encrypt your social security numbers or may not have sufficient security protocols in place to detect an unauthorized user on their network.

Many states require companies to notify customers when they have been subject to a data breach, and customers can obtain compensation by filing claims under some of these privacy laws. Today it is common for customers to file class action cases to ensure everyone impacted by the data breach receives benefits like free credit monitoring, identify theft insurance, reimbursements for out-of-pocket losses (like bank overdraft fees), and to ensure the company changes its practices to reduce or eliminate the risk of future breaches.

Kaplan Fox’s Data Breach Cases

We represent plaintiffs in a number of high-profile data breach cases throughout the United States. Representative cases include:

In re Home Depot, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:14-md-02583-TWT (N.D. Ga.): Kaplan Fox is a member of the court-appointed steering committee leading multidistrict litigation on behalf of financial institutions arising from Home Depot’s massive 2014 data breach.

In re Horizon Healthcare Services Inc. Data Breach Litigation, No. 13-7418 (CCC) (D.N.J.): We are working as lead counsel representing patients in a consolidated alleging that their personal and medical information was unlawfully exposed by their health insurance company when laptops containing their data was stolen from corporate headquarters.

In re Target Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 0:14-md-02522-PAM (D. Minn.): Kaplan Fox represents Target’s customers that were impacted by the data breach that occurred at the height of the holiday shopping season in 2013. The case recently settled for $10 million in cash payments to injured class members and ensured upgrades to Target’s data security practices.

Winstead v. ComplyRight, Inc., No. 1:18-cv-04990-EEC (N.D. Ill.): We are court appointed co-lead counsel in a case filed on behalf of workers whose personal information, including Social Security numbers, were breached by a payroll and benefits administrator. The court recently approved a $3 million settlement to the impacted class members.

What should I do if I have been notified about a data breach?

If you would like to learn more about our current data breach cases or have been notified about a data breach and would like to inquire about your legal rights, please fill out the form below or call 1-844-333-7660 for a free and confidential consultation.