SEATTLE — At least seven class-action lawsuits have been filed against Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center after some clinical data was allegedly leaked in a cyberattack last month.
The Nov. 19 cybersecurity incident resulted in an apparent breach of patient and employee information, the lawsuits allege, which was followed by spam threats emailed to a number of people whose data hackers said they stole. In the past week, complaints have started to file in.
One complaint, filed last week in King County Superior Court, says the Seattle cancer care center “owed a duty” to plaintiffs Alexander Irvine and Barbara Twaddell, who received services from Fred Hutch, to provide “reasonable and adequate security measures to secure, protect and safeguard” their health information.
The suit also accuses Fred Hutch of failing to promptly notify those whose data might have been leaked and alleges that hackers were able to spread personal information before patients could take “steps to protect” themselves.
