If you got a data breach notice from Bell Ambulance after the February 2025 cyberattack, you can claim a pro rata cash payment or up to $5,000 for documented losses — but the deadline is June 29, 2026.
What Is This Settlement About?
Bell Ambulance, Inc. — a private medical transport and ambulance service based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — agreed to a $2 million class action settlement to resolve claims that it failed to protect personal and protected health information from a data breach. The company has said it identified a targeted cyberattack on its computer systems in February 2025, during which an unauthorized party accessed certain files containing private information. Bell Ambulance notified roughly 114,000 individuals that their data may have been involved.The lawsuit alleges Bell Ambulance was negligent in safeguarding the data. The case is captioned Whitaker et al. v. Bell Ambulance, Inc., Case No. 2025CV002444, in the Circuit Court for Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Bell Ambulance denies the allegations and denies any wrongdoing; the court has not decided which side is right. Instead, both sides agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of continued litigation while giving affected people a way to recover compensation and protect their identities.
Who Qualifies?
The court has defined the settlement class as all living individuals residing in the United States whose Private Information was accessed in the February 2025 Data Incident. In practice, if you received a data breach notice from Bell Ambulance, the company's records indicate you are a class member; reporting put the number of people affected at roughly 114,000. Excluded from the class are Bell Ambulance's directors, officers, and agents (other than current or former employees whose information was accessed), the judge assigned to the case along with the judge's immediate family and court staff, and anyone who timely opts out.According to the litigation, the information potentially exposed in the breach included full names along with sensitive personal and medical details such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, financial information, information regarding medical treatments and diagnoses, medical record numbers, health insurance information, full-face photographic images, and other protected health information. If you are unsure whether you were included, the official settlement website can confirm your eligibility.
How Much Can You Get?
Class members choose one of two cash options:- Cash Payment B — Alternate Cash. A one-time pro rata cash payment for class members who do not want to gather loss documentation. The amount depends on how many people file valid claims against the $2 million fund and is estimated at $90, though the final figure may be higher or lower. No proof or explanation is required for this option beyond logging in with your notice credentials.
- Cash Payment A — Documented Losses — up to $5,000. Reimbursement for actual, unreimbursed out-of-pocket losses fairly traceable to the breach and incurred between February 13, 2025 and June 29, 2026 — for example, identity-theft and fraud losses, fees for credit reports or credit freezes, the cost of replacing IDs, and postage to contact banks. This option requires proof such as receipts or bank statements; a personal certification or affidavit on its own is not accepted, and you cannot claim losses already reimbursed by a third party.
Because the cash payments are paid from the $2 million settlement fund, the final per-person amounts can move depending on how many people file. The fund also covers court-approved attorneys' fees and costs (Class Counsel may request up to 33.33% of the fund) and service awards of up to $2,500 for each class representative, all subject to court approval.
How to File a Claim
You can file in two ways before the deadline:- Online. The fastest option is the official settlement website, where you log in with the credentials from your notice and submit the claim form.
- By mail. Download the paper claim form from the settlement website, complete and sign it, and mail it to the settlement administrator so that it is postmarked by the deadline.
Deadlines and Key Dates
- Claim deadline: June 29, 2026 (submitted online or postmarked).
- Opt-out / objection deadline: June 15, 2026 — this date has already passed, so the remaining action available to class members is to file a claim.
- Final approval hearing: July 14, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Payments are issued only after the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved, so there is typically a wait of several weeks to months after the hearing.
Watch Out for Scams
Legitimate settlement administrators do not ask you to pay a fee to receive a class action payment, and they do not request your full Social Security number, banking passwords, or a "processing payment" by text or phone. File only through the official settlement website linked on this page, and ignore unsolicited messages claiming you must pay money or hand over sensitive credentials to release your check. If you want to compare this case with other active cases, see our roundup of open data breach settlements, the Mount Kisco (Ambulatory Surgery Center of Westchester) data breach settlement — another medical breach with the same June 29, 2026 deadline — and our writeup of the Watson Clinic data breach settlement, another medical-records breach with a two-tier cash structure plus identity monitoring.Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the Bell Ambulance data breach settlement?
The Settlement Class is defined as all living individuals residing in the United States whose Private Information was accessed in the February 2025 Bell Ambulance Data Incident. If you received a data breach notice from Bell Ambulance, the company's records indicate you are a class member. Reporting put the number of people affected at roughly 114,000.
How much can I get from the Bell Ambulance settlement?
Class members can choose one of two cash options: Cash Payment B (Alternate Cash), a one-time pro rata payment estimated at $90 but variable depending on how many people file, or Cash Payment A (Documented Losses), reimbursement of up to $5,000 for documented out-of-pocket losses incurred between February 13, 2025 and June 29, 2026. All class members can also enroll in two years of CyEx Medical Shield Complete medical identity monitoring, which includes $1 million in medical identity theft insurance. Cash payments are paid from the $2 million settlement fund and may be adjusted up or down depending on the number of valid claims.
Is proof required to file a Bell Ambulance settlement claim?
Yes. The online claim portal requires the login credentials (such as a Notice ID / Claim ID) from the notice that was mailed or emailed to you, so the notice itself functions as proof of class membership. The pro rata Alternate Cash payment requires no loss documentation beyond that login, but the up to $5,000 Documented Losses option additionally requires receipts, bank statements, or similar records — a personal certification or affidavit alone is not accepted. If you no longer have your login information, you can request it from the settlement administrator through the official settlement website.
What is the deadline to file a Bell Ambulance claim?
Claim forms must be submitted online or postmarked by June 29, 2026. The court has scheduled a final approval hearing for July 14, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time at the Milwaukee County Courthouse; payments are not issued until the settlement receives final approval and any appeals are resolved.
What information was exposed in the Bell Ambulance data breach?
According to the litigation, the February 2025 cyberattack may have exposed full names along with sensitive personal and medical information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, financial information, information regarding medical treatments and diagnoses, medical record numbers, health insurance information, full-face photographic images, and other protected health information. Bell Ambulance denies the allegations and any wrongdoing.
Sources
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement — Whitaker et al. v. Bell Ambulance, Inc., Case No. 2025CV002444 (Circuit Court for Milwaukee County, Wisconsin)
- Official settlement website — Bell Data Incident Settlement.com
