BUFFALO, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A group of New York residents are suing the state's largest health insurance providers over an alleged personal data hack.
Matthew Fero, Shirley Krenzer and Erin O’Brien, individually and on behalf of all others situated, filed a class action lawsuit on Sept. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York against Excellus Health Plan Inc. and Lifetime Healthcare Inc., citing negligence.
The plaintiffs allege that on or around December 2013, hackers gained access to the defendants' data systems and for the next 20 months they operated undetected.
The defendants allegedly did not discover the hack until Aug. 5, 2015. The plaintiffs then claim it took until Sept. 9, 2015 for the insurers to disclose the breach to the public. According to the complaint, the defendants have not disclosed who was affected and do not plan to do so until November.
The plaintiffs are suing for negligence in safeguarding personal data and acting accordingly. They also are seeking a jury trial and an undisclosed amount for damages made during the data breach, court costs, and an injunction forcing the defendants to disclose who was affected by the breach immediately.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Hadley L. Matarazzo of Faraci Lange LLP and Robin L. Greenwald of Weizt and Luxemburg PC, both in New York.
U.S. District Court, Western New York District Court case 6:15-cv-06569-MAT