Digital home medical testing company, Everlywell, has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that it allowed social media giants like Facebook and Google to access people's private health care information. The lawsuit accuses Everlywell of embedding tracking pixels on their website, thereby enabling third parties to gain access to confidential personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI).
The plaintiffs in the case are Ashley Reedy, Joshua Cook, Melody Schoon, Jasmine Smith and Shadari Bush who are suing on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated. They argue that Everlywell's practices contradict its claims of prioritizing data security and privacy as stated in its "Notice of Privacy Practices".
The complaint points out that mishandling such sensitive information can lead to serious consequences including discrimination in the workplace or denial of insurance coverage.
The lawsuit was filed April 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Plaintiffs are seeking unspecified actual, consequential, punitive, statutory and nominal damages, plus attorney fees.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys David S. Almeida, Matthew J. Langley and Britany Kabakov, of the Almeida Law Group, of Chicago; and David DiSabato and Tyler Bean, of the firm of Siri & Glimstad, of Parsippany, New Jersey.