Posted On April 19, 2023 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
April 19 – When La Clinica de La Raza (La Clinic) discovered that some employee email accounts containing sensitive patient information had been accessed by an unauthorized party over a two-week period, a notice of data breach was filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR) on April 7, 2023. According to the company’s official report, the breach exposed the personal information of some of its customers, including their names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, online credentials, health insurance information, treatment information, debit and credit card information, and financial account information. After discovering a breach in their data security, La Clinic immediately started notifying the consumers whose information had been compromised.
Console & Associates, P.C.’s data breach lawyers are currently looking into the La Clinica data breach. If you have received a breach notice and want to know what your legal options are for protecting yourself and maybe receiving financial compensation from La Clinica de La Raza, we are giving free consultations to do just that.
Eye care, dental, pediatrics, pharmacy, and mental health are just some of the primary care services available at La Clinica de La Raza. La Clinica has over 90,000 patients annually and 35 facilities around the East Bay while being headquartered in Oakland. La Clinica de La Raza has been around since 1971, and now it employs over 235 people and brings in over $17 million annually.
La Clinica notified the HHS-OCR and posted a notice on their website about suspected activities in employee email accounts on February 8, 2023. With the help of a forensic security company, La Clinica has locked down the affected email accounts and launched an internal inquiry.
According to the La Clinica probe, between January 24, 2023 and February 8, 2023, an outsider accessed many staff email accounts. Some of the emails in these accounts were found to contain private patient information.
After learning that private customer information had fallen into the wrong hands, La Clinica de La Raza started going through the affected files to figure out what had been leaked and who had been affected. Information such as names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, login passwords, health insurance and treatment details, debit and credit card numbers, and bank account numbers may have been compromised.
Data breach letters were sent out by La Clinica de La Raza on April 7, 2023, to everyone whose personal information was exposed in the leak.
You probably didn’t think twice as a patient before disclosing your medical history to La Clinica de La Raza. This data breach calls into question the assurances you may have placed in La Clinica about the safety of your personal information. The organization must protect patients’ personal data and guard it with extreme caution.
If you have been informed by La Clinica de La Raza that you have been affected by the data breach, you may be eligible to file a claim for damages. It’s important to know your rights in a situation like this.
The consumer privacy lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. help customers affected by data and security breaches pursue legal solutions by offering free consultations. By explaining your rights in clear, concise terms, we help you make an informed decision about your next steps. If you are a victim of the La Clinica de La Raza data breach, Console & Associates, P.C. will investigate at no charge to you and offer advice on how to proceed. If you decide to pursue a case, rest assured that we don’t get paid unless you do. If your claim is successful, legal fees are either paid out of the funds recovered or by the defendant. If your claim is not successful, you pay nothing.
To schedule your free consultation, just call (866) 778-5500 today or fill out our secure contact form.
Below is a portion of the notice posted on their website:
On February 8, 2023, La Clinica de La Raza (“La Clinica”) became aware of suspicious activity involving email accounts belonging to a small number of La Clinica employees. Upon discovering the situation, La Clinica secured the email accounts and began an internal investigation. La Clinica also engaged a forensic security firm to investigate and confirm the security of its email and computer systems. La Clinica’s forensic investigation confirmed the email accounts were accessed at various times from January 24, 2023, to February 8, 2023. La Clinica’s patient health record systems have not been accessed or impacted by this incident.
On April 4, 2023, La Clinica learned that some patient health information was contained in the compromised email accounts. The type of information that may have been viewed varies for each individual, but the information that may have been viewed included patient names, addresses, dates of birth, financial account or payment card information, online credentials, Social Security numbers, medical treatment information, and/or health insurance information. La Clinica’s review of the compromised accounts is ongoing.
La Clinica has started notifying involved individuals for whom it has a valid mailing address and has arranged for complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services for the individuals whose Social Security number was potentially involved. La Clinica has no reason to believe that any personal information has been misused for the purpose of committing fraud or identity theft, but as a precautionary measure, individuals should remain vigilant to protect against potential fraud and/or identity theft by, among other things, reviewing their account statements and monitoring credit reports closely. If individuals detect any suspicious activity, they should notify the entity with which the account is maintained, and promptly report any fraudulent activity to proper law enforcement authorities, including the police and their state attorney general. Additional information regarding identity protection can be obtained at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or by calling the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338).
La Clinica takes its responsibility to safeguard personal information seriously. For further information and assistance, please call the dedicated call center La Clinica has engaged to address questions. Starting Thursday, April 13, 2023, the call center can be reached at 833-553-0429 from 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM, PST, Monday through Friday.
