Florida radiology practice reports data breach as attorneys eye lawsuit
A Florida radiology practice recently reported a data breach, with attorneys eying a possible class-action lawsuit.
Vital Imaging Diagnostic Centers, Miami, alerted patients about the apparent cyberattack on Aug. 22. It said the incident first took place in February, with an unauthorized party likely gaining access to private health information.
Based on a July investigation, Vital Imaging believes hackers may have obtained medical, insurance and demographic details such as date of birth.
“Vital Imaging prioritizes the privacy and security of your information,” the practice said in its notice. “While our investigation remains ongoing, Vital Imaging believes it’s important to keep our community informed so individuals may take precautionary steps to protect their information,” it added later.
Multiple law firms have since issued announcements looking for impacted patients interested in joining a possible class action lawsuit. Reports indicate more than 260,000 individuals may have been affected by the breach. Vital Imaging was founded in 2001 and employs over 50 individuals working across 7 locations, including approximately 16 radiologists, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The practice joins numerous other radiology groups that have experienced cyberattacks, among them, Radiology Associates of Richmond, Pinehurst Radiology Associates, Northwest Radiologists and SimonMed Imaging.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.