Healthcare giant to send $25k checks in $15.35 million data breach settlement – The US Sun

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The breach impacted millions of Americans
A MAJOR player in the healthcare field is in hot water, wrapped up in a legal case regarding a data breach that compromised customer information back in 2022.
As a result, the company agreed to cough up checks worth up to $25,000 from a $15.35 million pot – and consumers have two ways to get their hands on the free money.
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Shields Health Care Group is currently wrapped up in a class action lawsuit, agreeing to shell out $15.35 million in order to resolve allegations that the company failed to prevent a data breach a few years back, per the settlement website.
The breach took place between March 7, 2022, and March 21, 2022, with an investigation later determining that a bad actor had gained unauthorized access to the company’s network during this two week period.
The hackers stole sensitive data, including full names, Social Security numbers, birthdays, medical record numbers, diagnoses, as well as contact, provider, billing, insurance, and treatment information.
The Shields Health Care Group breach affected over 50 facility partners and more than 2.3 million patients, with notification letters going out to the affected individuals on a rolling basis starting July 25, 2022, and continuing for several months.
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The lawsuit filed against the company claimed negligence for failing to implement reasonable data security measures to prevent the breach and provide timely notifications once patient data was compromised.
Shields Health Care Group, a network of medical imaging centers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, denied all wrongdoing and liability, but agreed to a $15.35 million class action settlement in order to resolve the claims.
There are two sub-classes within the Shields Health Care Group settlement class.
This includes Massachusetts residents, which fall under the State Action Settlement Class, and Americans residing outside of Massachusetts, part of the Federal Action Settlement Class.
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Both sub-classes are eligible to receive a portion of the settlement benefits from the $15.35 million fund as long as their personal information was impacted by the Shields Health Care Group data breach that took place in March 2022.
Under the settlement terms, class members can be compensated if they experienced ordinary or extraordinary losses stemming from the data breach.
Payments worth up to $2,500 will be handed out for ordinary out-of-pocket losses such as credit report costs, credit monitoring, long-distance telephone charges, or time lost, with up to five hours of reimbursable time at $30 per hour available.
Americans must submit third-party documentation like receipts in order to verify the costs they incurred and receive payment.
Even bigger checks worth up to $25,000 are available to Shields Health Care Group patients who experienced extraordinary losses as the result of the 2022 data breach.
This includes losses related to identity theft, fraud, falsified tax returns, real estate title fraud, financial fraud, government benefits fraud, or other misuse of personal information, with documentation also required to qualify for the settlement payment.
Class action lawsuits offer groups of people, or ‘classes,’ a way to band together in court.
These suits are often brought by one or a few people who allege a company or other entity has wronged a large group of people.
When a suit becomes a class action, it extends to all “class members,” or people who may have similar complaints to those who filed the suit.
Companies often settle class actions – offering payment to class members who typically waive their right to pursue further legal action by accepting money.
These payout agreements frequently include statements by the defendant denying wrongdoing. Companies tend to settle class actions to avoid the costs of further litigation.
Pollution, discrimination, or false advertising are a few examples of what can land a class action on a company’s doorstep.
Americans who spent time addressing extraordinary losses can claim up to twenty hours of reimbursable time at an hourly rate of $30. 
Class members can claim the extraordinary losses together with the ordinary out-of-pocket losses and attested time, facing a cap of $25,000.
Americans who did not experience any documented losses or time spent addressing the data breach have the option to claim a one-time cash payment of $50.
There are two main ways for class members in the Shields Health Care Group settlement to get their hands on their payments.
The fastest way is to submit their claim form online, but Americans can also download the claim form and mail it to the Settlement Administrator.
Shields Data Incident Settlement
c/o Analytics Consulting LLC
P.O. Box 2006
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2006
Regardless of the method class members choose, they must submit a valid claim form by December 3, 2025.
Americans have until November 25, 2025 to exclude or object themselves from the settlement.
The final approval hearing for the Shields Health Care Group data breach settlement is set for December 16, 2025.
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