Radiology and oncology service provider Akumin negligently failed to properly secure, safeguard, and adequately destroy the health and personal data of its outpatient radiology and cancer patients, a $5 million class action lawsuit has asserted.
Gina Letizio of Hampton, NH, brought the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, on behalf of herself and others. The plaintiffs alleged that gaps and missteps with data security allowed a targeted cyberattack that was first disclosed on the Akumin website October 12, 2023, according to the lawsuit filed December 27, 2024.
"The data breach was a direct result of defendant’s failure to implement adequate and reasonable cybersecurity procedures and protocols necessary to protect individuals’ private information with which it was entrusted for either treatment or employment, or both," the complaint says.
Risk of identity theft is not speculative or hypothetical but is impending and has materialized as there is evidence that the plaintiff’s and class members’ private information was targeted, accessed, has been misused, and disseminated on the dark web, according to the filing, which is pursuing more than $5 million in damages.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs, and injunctive relief, including improvements to the company's data security systems, future annual audits, as well as long-term and adequate credit monitoring services funded by the company.
