USC Medical Center Data Breach
USC Medical Center Data Breach
The Los Angeles County – USC Medical Center was recently the target of a security and privacy breach. Personal and medical information was stolen from the LAC + USC Medical Center – Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center. If you were a patient at the Hawkins Mental Health Center between 2011 and 2015 then you may have had your personal and medical information stolen. Please contact us using the form on this page or call us at 213-212-2202. You may be part of a class action lawsuit.
Background
On April 3, 2015 officials discovered the breach during a search of the home of a nurse who worked at the Hawkins Mental Health Center. The nurse reportedly stole documents with patient names, medical and insurance information, birth dates, social security numbers, diagnoses and other personal information. A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services reports that the nurse has since resigned and is no longer working with the hospital. The Hawkins Mental Health Center believes that the patient information of about 900 Hawkins patients treated between 2011 and 2015 was affected. However, an investigation into the matter is ongoing and there may be more victims of the data breach.
The hospital and county officials have notified patients of the breach. If you were a patient at the Hawkins Mental Health Center between 2011 and 2015, you should have received notification that your personal and medical information may have been stolen. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s Cyber Investigation Response Team as well as The Class Action News is currently investigating the breach.
The Los Angeles County – USC Medical Center is a 600-bed public teaching hospital. It is jointly operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the University of Southern California. The LAC + USC Medical Center is one of the largest public hospitals in the country. Among the special units operated by the LAC + USC Medical Center is the Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center.
Data Breach
A data breach occurs when an unauthorized person views, accesses, or retrieves protected or confidential data belonging to another. These days a data breach usually happens when a computer hacker steals digital information. However, the older form of a data breach is a physical security breach. Physical data breaches occur when someone actually picks up and takes tangible confidential material. This confidential material can include things like paper documents, computer hard drives, laptops, and recorded media. In the case of the USC Medical Center breach, it was documents that contained confidential patient information.
Potential Class Action
The Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center – Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center has suffered a data breach. Personal and medical information, including social security numbers, have been stolen. If you were a patient at the Hawkins Mental Health Center between 2011 and 2015 then you may have had your personal and medical information stolen. Please contact us using the form on this page or call us at 213-212-2202. You may be part of a class action lawsuit.