Published
October 30, 2024
This $2.7 million data breach settlement resolved claims for current and former Great Expressions Dental Centers patients and employees. The claim deadline has passed and the settlement is closed.
What is the Great Expressions Dental Centers Data Breach?
A $2.700,000 class action lawsuit has been settled with Great Expressions Dental Centers over a data breach that exposed consumer data without authorization. The class action settlement involves current and former employees and patients of customers/licensees of the Defendants whose personal information may have been accessed or acquired by unauthorized individuals due to a Data Security Incident. The class action claims that Great Expressions Dental are legally responsible for the incident, asserting various legal claims such as negligence and breach of implied contract.The affected personally identifiable information may include the following, according to the Great Expressions data breach class action settlement:
For Employees:
• Driver's License Numbers,
• Passport Numbers
• Social Security Numbers,
• Bank Account and Routing Number,
For Patients:
• Patients' Names,
• Dates of Birth,
• Contact Information,
• Mailing Address,
• SSN (Social Security Numbers),
• Driver's License Numbers,
• Financial Information,
• Credit or Debit Card Numbers,
• Protected Health Information (PHI),
• Diagnosis and Treatment Information
• Medical History,
• Dental History,
• Dental Exam Information,
• Charting Information,
• Treatment Plans,
• X-ray Images,
• Dates of health service,
• Provider names,
• Billing records,
• Prescriptions, or other Personal Health Information,
Great Expressions Dental Centers are dental offices with about 350 different locations across 10 states in the United States. After the original data breach incident in 2023, on May 12, 2023, Great Expressions sent notice letters to patients whose confidential information had been stolen from Great Expressions Dental Centers' servers.
Great Expressions dental centers are in the following states: Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long term damage. Hackers break into networks so that they can steal your personal information to sell it on the dark web, commit identity theft, financial theft or other frauds. The theft of sensitive, protected health information, and personally identifiable information can lead to a plethora of problems for individuals who are the victims of data breaches that occurred in databases they were not even aware of.
Data breaches can also result in a long-term erosion of personal data privacy, as the hacked personally identifiable information may be traded or shared amongst cyber-criminals for years to come, on the internet, the dark web, or elsewhere.. This significantly increases the risk of further identity theft, financial fraud and massive headaches for consumers and victims.
Status
Settlement Closed
the claim filing deadline has passed
Claim Deadline
November 8, 2024
claims are no longer being accepted
Estimated Payout
Up to $6,000
SSN subclass — cash option plus documented and extraordinary losses
Proof Required
Yes
the Great Expressions data breach notice
What is the Total Settlement Amount?
The total settlement amount proposed is $2,700,000. This amount will cover all costs of the settlement, including payments to qualifying data breach class action members who submit valid claims, costs of administration and notice, attorneys' fees, and service awards.How Do I Qualify For a Payout?
If you received a letter from Great Expressions Dental Centers notifying you that your personal information was impacted in their data breach, you may be qualified for a potential payout from the class action. To qualify for a payout, individuals must be part of the Settlement Class, which includes all U.S. residents who received a Notice of the Data Security Incident from Great Expressions Dental, subject to some exclusions from the class action settlement.How Much Can I Get Paid?
The amount qualifying class action claimants can receive from the Great Expressions Data Security Incident Litigation class action lawsuit depends on whether or not your social security number (or "SSN") was part of the leaked data. Hence, the there is a "SSN Subclass" and a "Non-SSN Subclass" refer to different groups within the Settlement Class affected by the Great Expressions dental offices Data Security Incident:For SSN Subclass Members:
• Cash Payment: Members can choose to receive a cash payout of up to $500 instead of, or in addition to, claiming for other losses. However, the total cash payments are capped at $300,000. If requests exceed this cap, payments will be reduced proportionally.
• Ordinary Out-of-Pocket Losses: Members can be reimbursed up to $500 for costs incurred between February 17, 2023, and the claims deadline in response to the data breach.
• Ordinary Attested Time: Members can claim up to 2 hours of compensation at $20 per hour for time spent addressing the data breach, regardless of other losses. They must provide a brief description of their actions and time spent.
• Extraordinary Losses: Members can receive up to $5,000 for significant losses directly linked to the data breach that are not covered as ordinary out-of-pocket losses.
For Non-SSN Subclass Members:
• Non-SSN Attested Time: Members can claim up to 2 hours of compensation at $20 per hour for time spent dealing with issues related to the data breach. They must provide a brief description of their actions and time spent.
• The amounts for reimbursements and payments will be adjusted proportionally based on the number of approved claims submitted by all Settlement Class Members.
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How Do I File a Claim Form?
To file a claim, Settlement Class Members must complete and submit a Claim Form by November 8, 2024. This can be done online or by mailing a paper Claim Form to the designated address. Specific forms are available for SSN and Non-SSN Subclass Members, depending on the type of claim being filed. See the links below for more information.
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Status
Settlement Closed
Claim deadline passed November 8, 2024
Settlement Amount
$2,700,000
Defendant
Great Expressions Dental Centers
Claim Deadline
November 8, 2024
Type
Data Breach Settlement
Proof Required
Yes
data breach notice letter
