Medical data breaches are unfortunate in our digital world, with healthcare records becoming prime targets for hackers. These records hold personal information that is private and can be easily misused.
A breach can leave you feeling vulnerable and anxious and sometimes facing unexpected costs. Fortunately, there are ways to seek justice and compensation for the harm caused by such a breach.
In this article, we’ll explore three types of damages that a victim of a medical data breach can seek, helping you understand what options you may have if your privacy is compromised. Experienced medical data breach lawyers can provide the assistance required to deal with the legal side of things.
Let’s get going.
Financial Damages
Financial damages cover the money you lose because of the breach. Medical data often contains insurance information, Social Security numbers, and even payment details, which can lead to identity theft or financial fraud.
For example, someone could open new accounts or make unauthorized purchases using your information. Or, they could use your health insurance information, causing extra costs when you need medical care. You might have to spend money on things like credit monitoring, which alerts you if someone tries to use your information. You could also spend much time and money fixing your credit or securing your accounts.
Seeking financial damages helps cover these costs. Courts often award these damages to ensure you aren’t left paying for someone else’s crime.
Emotional and Psychological Damages
Emotional and psychological damages address the mental and emotional toll of a data breach. Knowing that strangers have access to your private health details can be incredibly stressful. You may worry about how your personal information could be used or fear future consequences.
This stress isn’t something you can quickly shake off. Many people feel anxious, angry, or helpless after a data breach, especially if their sensitive medical information is involved. This could include conditions you’d rather keep private or details about treatments and diagnoses you might not want others to know.
In cases like these, emotional damages help to acknowledge and address the mental impact. Courts consider this a severe harm and allow victims to claim compensation for the stress, anxiety, and other emotional struggles caused by the breach.
You might need a statement from a counselor or psychologist to show how the breach has affected you for these claims.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages aren’t about covering your losses but about holding the responsible party accountable. Punitive damages might apply if a healthcare provider or company fails to protect your data or ignores security rules. These damages punish careless or reckless actions, especially when the company knew it could have done more to protect your information.
For instance, if a hospital ignored warnings about weak security or had a history of data breaches but didn’t improve, the court might award punitive damages. This type of damage conveys that taking data security lightly has serious consequences.
Punitive damages also encourage companies to strengthen their data protection. By facing the risk of paying extra damages, companies are more likely to invest in better security practices to prevent similar breaches in the future.
Example of Notable Data Breach Payouts
Below are some examples of data breach payouts:
- Anthem (2015): Anthem settled for $115 million after a breach affecting nearly 79 million people, covering monitoring services and cash payments.
- Equifax (2017): Equifax’s settlement reached up to $700 million, which included payouts to affected individuals, credit monitoring, and other recovery costs.
- Yahoo (2013-2014): Yahoo settled for $117.5 million after multiple breaches compromised billions of accounts.
Final Thoughts
Medical data breaches have real consequences, both financially and emotionally. You can seek financial damages to cover direct losses, emotional damages to recognize the mental toll, and even punitive damages to hold the responsible party accountable.
When confidential medical information falls into the wrong hands, knowing what damages you can seek can help you recover from the damage done.
