People who received a notice from Clinical Pathology Laboratories or Austin Pathology Associates that their information may have been involved in the 2018–2019 American Medical Collection Agency breach may qualify to claim an estimated $50, or up to $5,000 for documented losses, plus two years of medical data monitoring, from a $6,438,578.20 class action settlement with Sonic Healthcare U.S.A. and its labs. Claims close January 4, 2027.
Current Status
Claims are open. Claims must be submitted online by January 4, 2027, or mailed with a postmark by that date. The deadline to opt out or object is December 3, 2026. The Final Fairness Hearing is set for January 7, 2027 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey; the court has not yet decided whether to approve the settlement, and no payment date had been announced as of October 8, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
A second settlement has been reached in the multidistrict litigation over the American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) breach, this time with Sonic Healthcare U.S.A., Aurora Diagnostics LLC, Clinical Pathology Laboratories, Inc. and Austin Pathology Associates, which provide diagnostic testing and formerly used AMCA, a billing collections agency, to pursue amounts owed. AMCA reported that its computer systems were affected between approximately August 1, 2018 and March 30, 2019. The court has preliminarily approved the settlement.This is separate from the $35 million Labcorp AMCA data breach settlement, whose claim deadline was September 3, 2026. The defendants deny all claims and any wrongdoing or liability, and the notice says the court did not decide in favor of either side.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class has two parts:- People to whom Clinical Pathology Laboratories (CPL), or AMCA on CPL's behalf, sent notice that their information was or may have been involved in the AMCA security incident.
- People to whom Austin Pathology Associates, or AMCA on its behalf, sent the same kind of notice.
The notice's headline asks whether the reader received diagnostic services from all four companies, but the class definition is narrower: it turns on having received a breach notice from CPL or Austin Pathology Associates. The defendants and their officers and directors, the judges assigned to the case, and anyone convicted of causing the incident are excluded.
Plaintiffs contend that names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, credit card information, bank information and medical provider-related information could potentially have been accessed. The settlement documents do not state how many people are in the class.
How Much Can You Get?
Each claimant selects one of two cash options, and can add monitoring to either:- Alternative Cash Payment: estimated at $50, with no documentation. It is paid from what remains in the fund after administration costs, attorneys' fees and expenses, service awards, taxes and Out-of-Pocket Losses, split evenly among valid claimants, so the amount can rise or fall.
- Out-of-Pocket Losses: up to $5,000 for documented, unreimbursed losses fairly traceable to the incident, including identity theft or medical fraud losses, professional services such as credit repair, notary, fax, postage, copying, mileage and long-distance charges, credit monitoring bought on or after August 1, 2018, and up to 10 hours of documented time at $25 an hour. These payments can also be adjusted pro rata.
- Monitoring: up to two years of CyEx Medical Shield Pro medical and healthcare information monitoring, selected by checking a box on the claim form.
The $6,438,578.20 fund is non-reversionary. Class counsel will ask for attorneys' fees and expenses of up to 34% of the fund, about $2.19 million, and service awards of $5,000 for each class representative, all paid from the fund.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
The Alternative Cash Payment requires no documentation, only a signed attestation under penalty of perjury. Out-of-Pocket Losses require receipts or other documentation plus an attestation that the losses are fairly traceable to the incident; the notice says self-prepared documents such as handwritten receipts are not enough on their own.The online claim form opens with a login that asks for the Class Member ID from the notice. The mail-in claim form asks for the Notice ID Number only "if known," so a class member without the notice can still file by mail, though the claim form says electronic payment is available only to claims filed online. Claims are subject to verification, and the administrator may ask for more information.
What Is the Deadline?
Online claims must be submitted by January 4, 2027, and mailed claims must be postmarked by that date; the notice does not give a time of day or timezone. Requests to opt out must be mailed and postmarked by December 3, 2026. The notice says objections must be postmarked by December 3, 2026, while the settlement agreement and the website's dates page say received by that date; objections can also be filed through the court's ECF system.How Do You Take Action?
Claims are filed through the official Sonic settlement website, run by Kroll Settlement Administration, which also posts a printable claim form. The main AMCA settlement hub links to both the Sonic and Labcorp settlements. The claim form says electronic payment is available only to claims filed online; mailed claims are paid by check to the address given.What Happens Next?
Judge Jamel K. Semper will consider final approval, the fee request and the service awards at the Final Fairness Hearing on January 7, 2027 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time in Newark, New Jersey. The notice says the date and time may change without further notice. Benefits are distributed only if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved or the time to appeal runs out.Sources and Verification
• Official Sonic settlement website — documents page• Long Form Notice and Claim Form
• Settlement Agreement and Preliminary Approval Order
• AMCA data breach settlement hub
Questions
Is this the same as the Labcorp AMCA settlement?
No. It is a separate settlement in the same federal multidistrict litigation over the AMCA breach, with its own $6,438,578.20 fund, class, claim form and deadline. The $35 million Labcorp settlement covered people whose information Labcorp sent to AMCA, and its claim deadline was September 3, 2026.
Does everyone who used a Sonic Healthcare lab qualify?
No. The class is limited to people to whom Clinical Pathology Laboratories or Austin Pathology Associates, or AMCA on their behalf, sent notice that their information was or may have been involved in the AMCA security incident. Having used a Sonic lab without receiving that notice is not enough under the class definition.
Can a class member get both the $50 payment and Out-of-Pocket Losses?
No. The claim form asks each claimant to select one cash option: the Alternative Cash Payment or reimbursement of Out-of-Pocket Losses up to $5,000. Two years of medical and healthcare information monitoring can be selected with either.
Is the $50 payment guaranteed?
No. The notice estimates $50, but the Alternative Cash Payment is whatever remains in the fund after fees, administration, service awards, taxes and Out-of-Pocket Losses, divided evenly among valid claimants, so it can rise or fall with the number of claims.
Is the monitoring automatic?
No. The two years of CyEx Medical Shield Pro monitoring must be selected on the claim form, which has a separate box for it.
