Class action suit filed against Sutter over stolen records

A class action complaint has been filed against Sutter Health by attornies acting on behalf of an affected patient, Karen Pardieck, and "all others similarly situated." The northern California healthcare network recently had a laptop containing millions of patients’ personal information stolen from its Sacramento headquarters. 

Documents filed with the Superior Court of California in Sacramento on Nov. 21 allege that the unintentional disclosure of patient information could have been prevented and that the loss of information represents noncompliance with California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CCMIA).

“Among other things, Sutter is and was negligent by failing to store its patients’ medical information in an encrypted form, failing to use reasonable security procedures to prevent unauthorized access to the computer [and] failing to use reasonable authentication procedures so that the medical information could be tracked in case of a security breach,” the document stated.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include, according to the document, “all current California residents who were notified by a letter from Sutter Medical Foundation that their health information was included on a missing Sutter Health laptop.”

Plaintiffs are seeking up to $1,000 each in statutory damages and a court order forcing Sutter Health to comply with CCMIA.