OB/GYN Clinics Mid-Atlantic Women’s Care and Physicians to Women, Inc. agreed to settle a class action lawsuit associated with a data breach in April 2023. Hackers acquired access to protected health information (PHI) stored by Mid-Atlantic Women’s Care and Physicians to Women, Inc.. The compromised PHI included names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and health data.
In February 2024, after issuing breach notification letters, Latoya Johnson filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia due to the theft of her sensitive information. Janet Hall and Virginia Trupia-Lash also filed lawsuits against the defendants. The three lawsuits filed identical claims against the defendants and so were combined into one lawsuit — Johnson et al. v. Physicians to Women, Inc. and Mid-Atlantic Women’s Care, PLC.
The lawsuit stated several claims, including negligence resulting from the failure to employ proper cybersecurity measures and comply with industry-required security protocols. The defendants rejected and denied wrongdoing, along with the claims and allegations in the legal action. To avert further legal expenses and the risks and issues connected with ongoing litigation, all parties agreed to a settlement.
The terms of the settlement require Mid-Atlantic Women’s Care and Physicians to Women, Inc. to create a $918,510.00 settlement fund to pay for claims filed by the plaintiffs. The amount to be paid for claims will be determined after deducting from the settlement fund the following: legal costs and expenditures, attorneys’ fees, and class representative awards. The remaining settlement fund will be allocated to the class members pro rata.
Class members can file a claim for $10,000 maximum to reimburse out-of-pocket expenses associated with the data breach. However, the limit may change pro rata based on the number of qualified claims submitted. The court has given preliminary approval of the settlement. The schedule of the final approval hearing is September 2, 2025. Class members can submit claims on or before September 9, 2025. Those who wish to object to or exclude themselves from the settlement can do so until August 11, 2025.