Forefront Dermatology To Pay $3.75M In Healthcare Data Breach Settlement

Forefront Dermatology, which operates dermatology offices across the US, reached a $3.75 settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit stemming from a May 2021 healthcare data breach.

The breach was one of the largest of 2021, impacting more than 2.4 million individuals. Between May 28 and June 4, 2021, an unauthorized party accessed Forefront Dermatology’s IT network, resulting in unauthorized access to files containing names, birth dates, patient account numbers, addresses, dates of service, provider names, medical treatment information, and medical record numbers.

The subsequent lawsuit claimed that impacted patients and employees “were harmed in the form of the loss of the benefit of their bargain, out-of-pocket expenses, loss of privacy, and loss of the value of their time reasonably incurred to remedy or to mitigate the effects of the attack.”

The lawsuit alleged that Forefront had inadequate data security controls and failed to employ appropriate measures to protect patient data.

Forefront Dermatology did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to resolve the class action lawsuit via a $3.75 million settlement. Class members are eligible to receive two years of credit monitoring and up to $10,000 in reimbursement for documented losses.

Class members may also submit claims for up to five hours of lost time, at a rate of $25 per hour.