Georgia Supreme Court Sets Data Breach Precedent
In 2016, the Athens Orthopedic Clinic in Georgia was hacked by an anonymous hacking group called the “Dark Overlord.” The group’s action caused a major data breach and affected approximately 200,000 patients. The information obtained involved social security numbers, health insurance information, birth dates, and addresses.
The Clinic refused to pay the ransom to the thief and advised those affected patients to set up anti-fraud protections. A lawsuit by the victims ensued seeking damages from the Clinic, which caused the courts to consider whether a data breach victim must suffer actual financial loss to be compensated or is the threat of future harm enough to make a claim for compensation?
On December 23, 2019 the Georgia Supreme Court in Collins et al. v. Athens Orthopedic Clinic, P.A. reversed the Georgia Court of Appeals decision and ruled that “the injury the plaintiffs allege that they have suffered is legally cognizable.”
As we rely more on technology and sensitive information such as our healthcare records are quickly exchanged from one healthcare provider to another, the risk of data breaches rises. Protected health information (PHI) often includes items such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, home and email addresses, and diagnosis codes can be used by hackers to buy prescription drugs online, purchase medical equipment, or create false identifications, to name a few. It seems that health care data is now more valuable than credit card data since health care data fraud takes longer for a consumer to both realize and report.
That is why it is even more important for stakeholders that traffic in data to not only ensure that these stakeholders have adequate security protocols to protect against data breaches, but these stakeholders must develop rapid response plans to alert affected parties and assess potential monetary damages. Lanton Law assesses stakeholders potential risks and makes recommendations to help limit stakeholder liability. Contact Lanton Law to get started!