Posted On September 16, 2022 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
On September 9, 2022, Lubbock Heart & Surgical Hospital reported a data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights stemming from an incident resulting in the disruption of the hospital’s IT system. Based on an official filing from the company, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to patients’ names, contact information, demographic information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, diagnosis and treatment information, prescription information, medical record numbers, provider names, dates of service, and health insurance information. After confirming that consumer data was leaked, Lubbock Heart Hospital began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals who were impacted by the recent data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the Lubbock Heart Hospital data breach on behalf of people whose information was exposed. As a part of this investigation, we are providing free consultations to anyone affected by the breach who is interested in learning more about the risks of identity theft, what they can do to protect themselves, and what their legal options may be to obtain compensation from Lubbock Heart & Surgical Hospital.
According to the most current information, on July 12, 2022, Lubbock Heart Hospital learned of a data security incident that had impacted the functionality of its IT network. In response, the hospital secured its systems, notified law enforcement, and then began working with outside cybersecurity specialists to investigate the incident.
The hospital’s investigation confirmed that an unauthorized party had gained access to its IT system and that sensitive patient data may have been accessed and copied from the hospital’s network. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, contact information, demographic information, date of birth, Social Security number, diagnosis and treatment information, prescription information, medical record number, provider names, dates of service, and health insurance information.
On September 9, 2022, Lubbock Heart & Surgical Hospital sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
At Console & Associates, P.C., our consumer privacy lawyers monitor all security and data breaches to help affected consumers pursue their legal remedies. We offer free consultations to victims of data breaches and can explain your rights in clear, understandable terms so you can make an informed decision about how to proceed with your case. If you’ve been affected by the Lubbock Heart Hospital data breach or any other data security incident, Console & Associates, P.C., will investigate your case at no charge and offer you thorough advice about how to most effectively proceed with your case. If you decide to bring a case, we only get paid if you do. If your claim is successful, any legal fees are either paid by the defendant or come out of the funds recovered from the defendant. If your claim doesn’t result in a recovery, you will pay nothing.
To schedule your free consultation, just call (866) 778-5500 today or fill out our secure contact form.
Below is a copy of the initial data breach letter issued by Lubbock Heart & Surgical Hospital:
Dear [Redacted],
Lubbock Heart & Surgical Hospital is committed to protecting the security and privacy of our patients’ information. On September 9, 2022, we began mailing notification letters to certain patients whose information may have been involved in a data security incident that disrupted the operations of some of our IT systems.
On July 12, 2022, we learned of the incident, and we quickly blocked the unauthorized party and immediately took steps to secure our systems and contain the incident. We also began an investigation with the assistance of third-party forensic experts and notified law enforcement. The investigation determined that an unauthorized party accessed some of our systems between July 11, 2022, and July 12, 2022, and attempted to copy certain files. Our investigation could not determine whether the unauthorized party did, in fact, access or copy any files but was unable to rule it out.
Information belonging to some of our patients was contained in the files and may have included the following: names, contact information, demographic information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, diagnosis and treatment information, prescription information, Medical Record Numbers, provider names, dates of service, and/or health insurance information.
For patients whose information may have been involved in the incident, we recommend that they review the statements they receive from their health insurers and contact the insurer immediately if they see services they did not receive. Additionally, we are offering patients whose Social Security numbers may have been involved complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services through Experian.
We take this incident very seriously and sincerely regret any concern this may cause. To help prevent something like this from happening again, we enhanced its security safeguards and technical measures to further protect and monitor its systems. A dedicated call center has been established to answer questions about this incident, which can be reached at [Redacted], Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM Central Time, and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Central Time.
