Avamere Health Services Data Breach Investigation

The Lyon Firm is actively involved in class action personal privacy and data theft cases and is currently investigating Avamere Health Services data breach claims on behalf of plaintiffs in Oregon and nationwide.

On July 13, 2022 Avamere Health and Infinity Rehab began notifying certain individuals about a security incident that may have compromised sensitive information.

After a forensic investigation, the company concluded that on May 18, 2022 some Avamere Health files and folders were potentially stolen and may have contained identifiable protected health information.

The type of client information compromised may include the following:

• Names
• Dates of Birth
• Social Security numbers
• Addresses
• Driver’s license numbers
• Financial account numbers
• Medication information
• Lab results
• Medical conditions

WHAT HAPPENED?

Avamere Health Services, LLC, was allegedly breached between January 19, 2022 and March 17, 2022. During that time, an unauthorized party potentially removed a number of files and folders from the network.

The incident was reported to HHS on July 13 as impacting 197,730 patients. Avamere’s security notification was made on behalf of the following entities:

• A-One Home Health Services, LLC
• Avamere at Albany
• Avamere at Bethany
• Avamere at Cascadia Village
• Avamere at Chestnut Lane
• Avamere at Englewood Heights
• Avamere at Hermiston
• Avamere at Hillsboro
• Avamere at Las Vegas
• Avamere at Lexington
• Avamere at Moses Lake
• Avamere at Mountain Ridge
• Avamere at Newberg
• Avamere at Oak Park
• Avamere at Pacific Ridge
• Avamere at Park Place
• Avamere at Port Townsend
• Avamere at Rio Rancho
• Avamere at Roswell
• Avamere at Sandy
• Avamere at Seaside
• Avamere at Seaside
• Avamere at Sherwood
• Avamere at South Hill
• Avamere at St. Helens
• Avamere at the Stratford
• Avamere at Three Fountains
• Avamere at Waterford
• Avamere at Wenatchee
• Avamere Court at Keizer
• Avamere Crestview of Portland
• Avamere Fern Gardens Memory Care
• Avamere Gresham Rehabilitation and Specialty Care
• Avamere Harmony House of Bend
• Avamere Health Services of Rogue Valley
• Avamere Heritage Rehabilitation of Tacoma
• Avamere Home Health Care, LLC
• Avamere Living at Berry Park
• Avamere Olympic Care of Sequim
• Avamere Rehabilitation at Fiesta Park
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Beaverton
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Cascade Park
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Clackamas
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Coos Bay
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Eugene
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Hillsboro
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Junction City
• Avamere Rehabilitation of King City
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Lebanon
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Newport
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Oregon City
• Avamere Rehabilitation of Richmond Beach
• Avamere Riverpark of Eugene
• Avamere St. Francis of Bellingham
• Avamere Transitional Care and Rehabilitation-Bellingham
• Avamere Transitional Care and Rehabilitation-Boise
• Avamere Transitional Care and Rehabilitation-Brighton
• Avamere Transitional Care and Rehabilitation-Malley
• Avamere Transitional Care at Sunnyside
• Avamere Transitional Care of Puget Sound
• Avamere Twin Oaks of Sweethome
• Bend Transitional Care
• Infinity Rehab
• Laurelhurst Village
• Northwest Hospice, LLC
• NP2U, LLC
• Prime Home Health, LLC
• Queen Anne Healthcare
• Salem Transitional Care
• Signature Coastal, LLC
• Signature Home Health Bend, LLC
• Signature Hospice Eugene, LLC
• Signature Hospice Medford, LLC
• Signature Hospice Nampa, LLC
• Signature Hospice Oregon Coast, LLC
• Suzanne Elise Assisted Living Facility
• The Arbor at Avamere Court
• The Arbor at Bend
• The Arbor at Bremerton
• The Pearl at Kruse Way
• The Stafford

Joe Lyon is a highly-rated data breach lawyer and Privacy Attorney representing plaintiffs nationwide in class action security breach lawsuits.

Can You Sue following a Data Breach?

Entities that collect and store data have a duty to protect personal information to the best of their ability. When they are negligent, and a data theft incident occurs, they may be liable for the following:

• Improperly monitoring data security systems for existing intrusions
• Not ensuring that vendors with access to computer systems and data employ reasonable security procedures
• Improperly training employees in handling emails containing personal data and maintain adequate email security practices
• Failure to implement technical policies and procedures to allow electronic data access only to individuals or software programs granted access rights
• Failure to implement procedures to review records of information system activity regularly, such as audit logs, access reports and security incident tracking reports
• Improperly protecting against reasonably anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of stored data

An experienced class action privacy attorney can determine if you are eligible to file a data breach lawsuit or join a class of plaintiffs. Lawyers investigating the matter can assist in determining the following:

• Did Avamere Health Services fail to adopt security safeguards that would have prevented a breach?
• Did Avamere Health notify customers as soon as it learned of the incident?
• Did Avamere provide a complete list of all individuals impacted?
• Did the organization provide security in line with industry standards?

The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule calls for data breach notifications to be issued to the Secretary of the Health and Human Services “without unnecessary delay.” No later than 60 days after the date of discovery of a data breach, healthcare entities have a duty to alert the government and begin preparing to alert the public.

Consumer privacy attorneys say there has been a trend for HIPAA-regulated entities to wait as long as possible before alerting affected individuals, a practice that place consumers at a higher risk of identity theft and fraud.

In many cases, data breach notifications have been sent out many months after a security breach incident was detected. There may be valid reasons for a delay in reporting, though in some cases this institutes a severe disservice to those impacted by a data theft event.

Delays to individual data theft notifications could mean individuals’ Personal Health Information (PHI) has been in the hands of criminals for many months before they are even aware about the data theft.

Privacy lawyers claim promptly sending out individual data breach notification letters and being transparent about the fraud risk for individuals is not only ethical, but the only way to avoid stiff penalties.

The HHS has made it clear that if healthcare entities do not comply with the 60 day rule from the date of data breach discovery, they may be liable for notification violations.

What Should You Do Following the Avamere Health Data Breach?

Regardless of the reason for a security breach, victims have the right to file a claim against a company for failing to protect their information. All companies and organizations must exercise reasonable care in protecting patient information, and if they do not, they can be held liable for the damages that result, including identity theft.

Individuals impacted in the Avamere Health Services breach:

We would like to speak with you about your privacy rights and potential legal remedies in response to this data security incident. Please fill out the contact form, below, or contact us by phone.

If you were impacted by a data breach, you may consider taking the following steps to protect your personal information:

• Review the breach notice you received and retain a copy
• Enroll in any free credit monitoring service provided by the breached company
• Change your passwords and security questions for related online accounts
• Review account statements and credit reports for signs of fraud or identity theft
• Contact a credit bureau to request a temporary fraud alert

Security breach plaintiffs and privacy attorneys representing plaintiffs have been able to settle multi-million dollar recoveries. If you or a loved one has received notice of an online security incident affecting you, or suspect signs of identity theft, contact a data theft lawyer for a free consultation.

Individuals can be ruined financially and emotionally, and deserve proper online security measures. But many companies violate privacy laws and consumer rights, and thus face class action lawsuits.

After a data breach turns your life upside down, remember that you are not the only victim. There are millions of Americans who suffer from data privacy events every year, and in turn, seek legal action for compensation and to hold companies accountable for negligent security systems.

If you want more information on current data security litigation and how to file a data theft class action lawsuit, contact The Lyon Firm for a free and confidential Avamere Health data breach case review.