THOUSANDS of Americans are eligible for payments of up to $6,500 after a data breach.
It comes after a class action lawsuit was filed against Bridgeway Center, a Florida-based company providing patients with mental health services.
2
2
The complaint claims that Bridgeway Center failed to protect the private information of thousands of patients and employees when its systems suffered a data breach.
According to the suite, the personal information of 65,386 individuals that was compromised in the data breach that was discovered in February 2024.
Bridgeway Center is accused of failing to prevent the cyber attack that took place on or around February 21.
The lawsuit claims that the breach saw hackers access personal data including names, Social Security numbers, financial information, and protected health information.
The company has not admitted any wrongdoing but has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to resolve the claims.
From this payout, eligible claimants can get compensation for damages caused by the breach.
Those who suffered ordinary damages can get up to $1,500 and up to $5,000 for extraordinary losses.
Ordinary losses come from bank fees, credit expenses, and other usual expenses that left individuals out of pocket including fees for credit reports and monitoring.
Extraordinary damages are severe losses caused by fraud or identity theft in connection to the data breach.
A claim for ordinary and/or extraordinary losses must be made with documents proving the breach-related damages that were suffered.
This could be in the form of receipts or other documents.
Eligible claimants who have not suffered losses or who do not want to file for reimbursement can get a standard one-time cash payment of $125.
But class members have just days left to file a claim with the deadline set for February 8, 2025.
These can be submitted here at the settlement website.
What’s a class-action settlement?
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.
Everyone who is eligible will have received a data breach notification from the company in May last year.
A final approval hearing for the payout was approved on January 24, 2025 and the funds will be released by the administrators when all claims have been filed.
Eligible claimants who do not take action and who did not exclude themselves from the payout by December 26, 2024, will not get any money.
They will lose their legal rights to bring future action against the company regarding the breach.
Meanwhile, some Apple users are also eligible for part of a $20 million settlement.
Customers who have bought certain Apple watches will part of the payout.