Orthopaedic Specialists of CT in Brookfield sued for $5M in class action lawsuit due to data breach

Orthopaedic Specialists of Connecticut (OSC), based in Brookfield with a location in Stamford, is facing a class action lawsuit worth $5 million due to a data breach in March. The lawsuit, initiated by Danbury resident Marisa Mancini on behalf of over 22,000 patients, claims damages exceeding $5 million.

In an announcement on April 23, OSC disclosed that a security incident had compromised the personal information of certain current and former patients. On March 2, unauthorized access to the network environment occurred, prompting OSC to take immediate action to secure the network and engage a forensic incident response firm to investigate the extent of the breach.

Investigation results revealed that an unauthorized third party might have acquired personal information, including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health insurance ID numbers, and medical data. While the information exposed varied for each individual and not all elements were accessed for everyone, OSC mentioned that there have been no reports of misuse or identity theft stemming from the incident.

Even though OSC believes that the information has not been misused, the practice arranged for complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for affected individuals for the next year. The breach was reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, impacting potentially 22,541 people.

A subsequent 38-page lawsuit highlights OSC’s alleged negligence in safeguarding patient information from unauthorized disclosure. The lawsuit outlines five claims against OSC, including negligence, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment, invasion of privacy, and violation of deceptive trade practices.

The lawsuit seeks class action status and a jury trial, with attorney Jeremy C. Virgil from Zeldes, Needle & Cooper PC, and Paul J. Doolittle from the law firm Poulin, Willey, Anastopoulo representing Mancini in this legal action.

As of now, OSC representatives have not provided a comment regarding the lawsuit or the data breach incident. The case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of implementing robust security measures to protect sensitive patient information and prevent such breaches in the future.