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Medibank to face 2nd class action investigation
Another legal claim against private health insurance provider Medibank is being investigated, in the wake of “one of the most serious data breaches in Australian history”.
Jerome Doraisamy
National plaintiff firm Maurice Blackburn is investigating a claim against Medibank after millions of its customers had personal data stolen. The investigation follows the one announced last week by Bannister Law Class Actions and Centennial Lawyers.
In this instance, the firm said in a statement, the Medibank data breach has involved “highly personal information”, including customers’ names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, some Medicare and passport numbers and in some cases, sensitive health care information, including codes associated with diagnosis and medical procedures.
A ransomware group began posting some of the stolen data last Wednesday, 9 November.
Speaking about the investigation, Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Andrew Watson said that the national plaintiff firm was carefully reviewing the latest breach and investigating whether customers are entitled to compensation.
“Companies that hold their customer’s sensitive health information have an important obligation to make sure that information is safeguarded, commensurate with the sensitivity of that data,” he said.
“As custodians of customer’s personal health information, Medibank has a heightened responsibility to put in place greater safeguards to secure the personal and health claim information it collected from its customers, including appropriate security and monitoring systems to protect against unauthorised access or disclosure of that data.
“Medibank, ahm and international student customers will understandably feel very vulnerable and distressed as a result of this incident.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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