Law Firm Says $65 Million Settlement Reached With LVHN Over Hacked Nude Photographs, Information; Victims to Receive as Much as $70,000

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

A Scranton law firm says a $65 million settlement has been reached with Lehigh Valley Health Network on behalf of patients and employees whose photographs and medical records were hacked.

In February 2023, LVHN disclosed the hack by what it said was a Russian outfit known as BlackCat.

The Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky law firm said it filed its case in March 2023 on behalf of “nearly 135,000 patients and employees of the health system, more than 600 of whom had their personal medical-record photos hacked and posted on the Internet.”

The firm said the settlement may be the largest of its kind in a healthcare ransomware case.

Funds will be distributed to victims early next year, if final approval to the agreement is granted.

“Those who have been notified they are in the class are not required to take any action to receive compensation. Every Settlement Class member, under the agreement, will receive payment, ranging from $50 to $70,000; those receiving the maximum had their hacked nude photos published online,” according to the law firm.

Note: the release says, “$50 to $70,000.”

Attorneys Patrick Howard, Simon Paris and Robert J. Mongeluzzi “commended LVHN for its efforts in reaching the compromise agreement.”

LVHN is now part of Jefferson, a Philadelphia-based medical network.