In late May 2023, Holyoke, Massachusetts-based Pioneer Valley Ophthalmic Consultants, PC (PVOC) gave public notice of a potential data breach affecting its patients.
According to PVOC, one of its third-party vendors Alta Medical Management and ECL Group, LLC (together, AMM), which provides patient billing and accounting services, suffered two data breach incidents in 2021 that may have compromised PVOC patient data.
Between the two incidents, intruders into AMM’s systems may have been able to access and extract PVOC patient names, addresses, email addresses, Social Security Numbers, payment card information, and medical records. Healthcare news outlet The HIPAA Journal reports that the breach may have affected more than 36,000 of PVOC’s patients.
Your Rights Are At Risk
PVOC emphasized in its notification to patients that it was not aware of any “actual or attempted misuse of patient information in relation to” the data breach incidents at AMM.
But that’s no guarantee that patient data is safe. Identity thieves target information systems like AMM’s because they provide fertile ground for information they can use to carry out fraudulent schemes against credit card companies, financial institutions, governments, businesses, and others.
Victims of data breaches like the one affecting PVOC patients are the unwitting and unwilling pawns in those criminal enterprises. When fraudsters use your stolen identity, it can ruin your finances and credit history and severely tarnish your online and offline reputation.
Repairing the damage can take significant effort and expenditure, and you might not recognize the full impact of the harm you suffered for years.
If you received a notice that the PVOC data breach potentially compromised your personal information or believe you are a possible victim of the breach because you were a patient of PVOC, you may have the right to take legal action seeking compensation for the harm you have suffered and may yet suffer.
An experienced data breach lawyer at Finkelstein & Partners can help you evaluate your situation and weigh your options. Our firm represents victims of data breaches in seeking justice and compensation from the companies that failed to protect their sensitive personal information from disclosure to hackers and other online bad actors.
We know how to investigate whether and to what extent the PVOC breach affects you and to take the steps necessary to limit the fallout and secure justice and compensation for your actual and potential losses.
Contact a PVOC Data Breach Lawyer at Finkelstein & Partners Today
Victims and potential victims of the PVOC data breach should not wait to begin protecting their rights and interests. In a free consultation, a member of the team at Finkelstein & Partners can review your circumstances and explain your potential legal options. There is no obligation for you to move forward, but if you choose to hire us, we represent our clients on contingency, which means you pay us nothing unless we win for you.
So don’t delay. Contact Finkelstein & Partners online or call us at (315) 453-3053 to learn more about your rights after the PVOC data breach.
Mr. Finkelstein is the Managing Partner of Finkelstein & Partners, LLP. He has become a noted consumer activist through his representation of injured individuals against corporate wrongdoers and irresponsible parties.
An accomplished litigator, Mr. Finkelstein has represented Plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases. He has successfully handled dozens of multi-million dollar cases.