An Illinois woman has filed a class action lawsuit against Cook County Health and Hospitals System and a health information technology firm, claiming that her personal medical information and those of other patients was stolen by hackers during a data breach.
Plaintiff Terry Kimber filed a class action lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against Cook County Health and Hospitals System and Perry Johnson & Associates Inc.
According to court documents, CCH operates numerous healthcare facilities in Cook County, and PJA provides health information technology solutions used by CCH. As such, the defendants were responsible for securing the personally identifiable information and personal health information of patients.
The lawsuit states that the defendants failed to implement or maintain reasonable data security procedures, leading to a data breach that allegedly occurred between March 27-May 2, 2023.
As a result of the data breach, the personal information of 1.2 million individuals, including Kimber's, allegedly was accessed and stolen by unauthorized third parties.
Kimber asserts that the data breach has exposed her and other patients to substantial and imminent risks of identity theft.
The lawsuit cites claims of negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment, and violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
Kimber is seeking certification of her class action lawsuit and a judgment for damages plus interest, attorney's fees, court costs and other relief. Additionally, Kimber is seeking an injunction ordering the defendants to adopt sufficient security practices to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Ben Barnow, Anthony L. Parkhill, Riley W. Prince and Nicholas W. Blue, of Barnow and Associates P.C. in Chicago.