Published
November 4, 2026
Patients who filed a claim in the $15.35 million Shields Health Care Group data breach settlement, over the March 2022 cyberattack on the Massachusetts medical imaging provider, began receiving checks in early November 2026. One Massachusetts class member reported a $39.18 check; claims closed December 3, 2025, so no one else can still file.
Current Status
Payments in the Shields Health Care Group data breach settlement appear to be going out. A Massachusetts class member reported on November 4, 2026, that a $39.18 check from Shields had arrived in the mail. The report comes from a class member describing their own payment, not from an administrator announcement. As of November 4, the official settlement website still showed only its 2025 deadlines and had not posted a payment notice.The timing fits the court record. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the Norfolk Superior Court approved the settlement after a joint hearing on December 16, 2025. Judge Patti B. Saris then resolved the last open issues in the federal case, leftover funds in February 2026 and attorneys' fees in March 2026, before any money could be distributed.
Claims are closed. The deadline was December 3, 2025, for online claims and for paper claim forms by postmark. Only people who filed by then and were approved are being paid.
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Status
Payments in Progress
Checks reported arriving November 2026 · final approval December 2025
Reported Payment
$39.18
One Massachusetts class member's check · amounts vary by claim type
Settlement Fund
$15.35 Million
About 2,382,578 people in the class · 211,147 claims filed
Can I Claim?
No — Claims Closed December 3, 2025
Why the Check Is Under $50
Class members who did not want to document losses could choose an alternative cash payment, listed at $50. The settlement agreement never fixed that amount. Every approved claim, including the $50 option, is adjusted up or down on a pro rata basis. The adjustment depends on what remains of the $15.35 million after attorneys' fees, expenses, service awards, administration costs and documented-loss claims. Any increase was capped at $400 per person.If the reported $39.18 check is an alternative cash payment, it is about 78% of the $50 figure. That looks like a modest pro rata reduction, not an error. Claimants who were approved for documented losses or attested time would have received different amounts.
Claimants could choose from three types of benefit:
- Ordinary losses and time: up to $2,500 for documented out-of-pocket costs from the breach, such as credit freezes or credit monitoring, plus up to five hours of attested time at $30 an hour.
- Extraordinary losses and time: up to $25,000 for documented identity theft, fraud or other misuse more likely than not connected to the breach, plus up to 20 hours of time at $30 an hour.
- Alternative cash payment: $50 before adjustment, with no documentation, available only to claimants who did not claim losses or time.
The Shields Data Breach
Shields Health Care Group, Inc. is a Massachusetts medical imaging provider that operates many of its centers jointly with hospital and health system partners. The settlement agreement says Shields discovered suspicious activity on its network around March 28, 2022, and found that outside attackers had access intermittently between March 7 and March 21, 2022.Shields posted notice of the incident on its website on May 27, 2022, and began mailing letters to affected people on a rolling basis around July 25, 2022. By April 2023 it had counted 2,382,578 people whose information may have been involved, including patients of its health care facility partners. The class notice says the files included patients' private information, including health information.
Plaintiffs filed federal suits in Boston beginning June 9, 2022, and state suits in Norfolk and Essex counties beginning June 16, 2022. They alleged that Shields did not adequately protect patient data or give timely notice. Shields denied all wrongdoing and settled to avoid the cost and risk of continued litigation. Neither court decided whether Shields was at fault.
Two Courts, One Settlement
The settlement resolves two parallel cases. Massachusetts residents are in the state case, Kossifos v. Shields Health Care Group, Inc., No. 2282CV00561, in Norfolk Superior Court. Everyone else is in the federal case, In re Shields Health Group, Inc. Data Breach Litigation, No. 1:22-cv-10901-PBS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Court filings put the federal class at about 249,886 people, or 10.5% of the total. The other 89.5% of the class lives in Massachusetts.Both classes had the same benefits and the same claim deadline. Only the federal class could opt out, because Massachusetts class action rules did not permit exclusion in the state case. Six federal class members opted out. Two Massachusetts class members filed valid objections, and both were overruled.
What Came Out of the Fund First
Class Counsel asked for one-third of the fund, $5,116,666.67, in attorneys' fees. After consulting with the Superior Court judge, Judge Saris awarded 25% instead, or $3,837,500, in a February 13, 2026 order. The order noted that Class Counsel's lodestar, the hours worked multiplied by hourly rates, came to $3,018,672.54. The court also approved $76,276.04 in expenses and a $2,500 service award for each class representative. A formal order setting out those awards followed on March 2, 2026.Settlement administration and notice costs also come out of the fund. Class Counsel reported that more than 1.92 million class members received direct notice and that 211,147 claim forms were submitted, a claims rate of about 9.1%.
What Happens Next
Under the settlement agreement, payments are made by electronic payment or mailed check. Class members have 90 days to cash a check or collect an electronic payment, after which the payment expires. Questions about a specific claim or a missing payment go to the settlement administrator, Analytics Consulting LLC, through the official Shields Data Incident Settlement website.No leftover money goes back to Shields. A February 2, 2026 federal order splits any remainder to match the two classes. The Consumer Federation of America receives 10.5% as a cy pres recipient, and a recipient chosen by the Norfolk Superior Court receives the other 89.5%.
Read the Class Notice
This is the court-approved long-form notice sent to class members in 2025. Its deadlines have all passed.
Questions
Is a check from “Shields” real?
It matches the timing of the Shields Health Care Group data breach settlement, which both the federal court in Boston and the Norfolk Superior Court approved in December 2025. Payments are issued by the settlement administrator, Analytics Consulting LLC, not by Shields itself. The official settlement website is shieldsdatasettlement.com, and it is the place to confirm a payment.
Why is the check less than $50?
The $50 alternative cash payment was never guaranteed. The settlement agreement adjusts every approved claim up or down on a pro rata basis, depending on how much of the $15.35 million fund is left after attorneys' fees, expenses, service awards, administration costs and documented-loss claims. A $39.18 check is about 78% of $50, which is consistent with a pro rata reduction.
I never filed a claim. Can I still get paid?
No. Payment required a claim form submitted online or postmarked by December 3, 2025. Class members who did not file are not paid, but they are still bound by the settlement's release of claims against Shields and its health care facility partners.
What happens to money from checks nobody cashes?
None of it goes back to Shields. Under a February 2, 2026 federal court order, 10.5% of any remainder goes to the Consumer Federation of America, matching the share of the class living outside Massachusetts. The other 89.5% goes to a recipient chosen by the Norfolk Superior Court, which oversees the Massachusetts class.
Sources
- Shields Data Incident Settlement — official settlement website (claim deadline, benefit options, case documents)
- Federal docket for In re Shields Health Group, Inc. Data Breach Litigation, No. 1:22-cv-10901-PBS (D. Mass.)
- Final Approval Order and Judgment (December 2025, ECF No. 178)
- Order Regarding Distribution of Remainder Funds (February 2, 2026, ECF No. 185)
- Order Concerning Final Approval of Attorney Fees, Expenses and Service Awards (February 13, 2026, ECF No. 186)
- Order Awarding Attorneys' Fees, Expenses, and Service Awards (March 2, 2026, ECF No. 190)
- Class Action Settlement Agreement (May 15, 2025)
- Memorandum in support of final approval (December 2025) (claims, notice, objection and opt-out figures)
- Court-approved long-form class notice (PDF)
This page is informational and is not legal advice.
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Status
Payments in Progress — checks reported November 2026
Settlement Amount
$15.35 million
Case Title
In re Shields Health Group, Inc. Data Breach Litigation
Case Number
1:22-cv-10901-PBS
Court
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
State Case
Kossifos v. Shields Health Care Group, Inc., No. 2282CV00561 (Norfolk Superior Court)
Date Filed
June 9, 2022
Final Approval
December 2025 (joint hearing December 16, 2025)
Claim Deadline
December 3, 2025 (closed)
Administrator
Analytics Consulting LLC
Official Website
Shields Data Settlement.com
