A class-action lawsuit has been brought against Benefit Recovery Specialists accusing them of failure in protecting consumers from a 2020 data breach. Benefit Recovery Specialists is a billing and collections company offering services to the healthcare sector. According to the HIPAA Journal, the company announced a data breach in July 2020 that compromised the personal credentials of 274837 people including their birth dates, names, policy numbers, provider names, billing codes, and even Social Security numbers.
The affected consumers claimed that Benefit Recovery Specialists failed to properly protect their data and took legal action against them. This data breach made the plaintiffs and other consumers vulnerable to identity theft and fraud. As per the class action lawsuit, the consumers will have to struggle with these risks for years. Although Benefit Recovery Specialists have not admitted to any wrongdoing, they have agreed to honor the terms of this class action lawsuit with a settlement agreement.
According to the terms, Class Members are eligible for two years of identity services and credit. These services shall be made available to the Class Members at no additional cost through IDX and will include dark web monitoring, credit monitoring, identity theft insurance coverage up to $1 million, and identity recovery. The settlement is also going to provide reimbursement for costs up to $2500 per settlement class member which are:
- Related to the data breach.
- If they resulted directly from the data breach and have not been reimbursed by IDX or any third party. Costs whose reimbursement has been denied by IDX are not eligible for payment under the settlement terms.
- Supported by necessary documentation, and
- Meets all the requirements specified in the Settlement Agreement and the Reimbursement Form.
The last date for Class members to object to or exclude themselves from this class action settlement is 31st May 2022. Claims can be submitted either electronically or in paper format. A reimbursement form is required for cash payments while an election form is needed for credit monitoring benefits. The Settlement Administrator will evaluate your claim, confirm your eligibility and calculate your payment amount on timely filing of a valid reimbursement form and submission of required documentation. Class members will be notified of any deficiencies regarding the claims made by the Settlement Administrator and they will have 21 days from the date of sending the notice to correct these deficiencies. Payments for valid claims will be made only after the final approval of the settlement and exhaustion of all appeals and other reviews.
The class counsel will request the Court for Benefit Recovery Specialists to pay attorney’s fees and other expenses of up to $750000 and a Class Representative service award which doesn’t exceed $2500. The number of service awards, attorneys’ fees, and other expenses shall be decided by the court. On being approved, these shall be paid by Benefit Recovery Specialists and will not reduce the benefits provided under the proposed class action settlement.
Eligibility For Making Claim: The terms of this settlement are expected to benefit individuals whose personal credentials were compromised in the Benefit Recovery Specialists data breach between 20th and 30th April 2020.
Proof Of Purchase: Class members under this settlement who want to make a properly supported claim for reimbursement of economic losses must provide all requisite information to the Settlement Administrator to evaluate the claim, including:
- The name and current address of the Claimant. A signed copy of IRS Form 14039 alongside a statement under penalty of perjury that the form was submitted to the Internal Revenue Service.
- Invoices or bills documenting the claim amount and proof that these payments were honored.
- Documents showing the claim submitted to IDX was denied and that the IDX claims process was exhausted, and
- A signed statement under penalty of perjury indicating that,
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- The claimed economic losses are fairly traceable to the Data Breach, and
- The cumulative claim amount has not been reimbursed by any other entity or person.
Potential Claim Amount: Variable
Settlement Website: BenefitRecoverySettlement.com
Claim Form: https://www.benefitrecoverysettlement.com/lang/en/submit-claim.php
Deadline For Submitting Claim: 07/29/2022
Final Hearing Date: 07/13/2022