People notified that their information was involved in the November 2024 cyberattack on Bigfork Valley Hospital in northern Minnesota may qualify to claim up to $2,000 in documented fraud losses, up to $500 in other documented costs or up to $80 for lost time, plus three years of medical identity monitoring, from the Bigfork Valley Hospital data breach class action settlement. Claims are open through February 1, 2027, and the final approval hearing is set for March 1, 2027.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline is February 1, 2027, at 11:59:59 p.m. Central Time for online claims; mailed claims must be postmarked by that date. The District Court for Itasca County, Minnesota has preliminarily approved the settlement, and the final approval hearing is scheduled for March 1, 2027. No payments will be made unless the court grants final approval, and no payment date has been announced.Free settlement alerts
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What Happened in the Bigfork Valley Data Breach?
Bigfork Valley Hospital, a small hospital in Bigfork, Minnesota operated by the Northern Itasca Hospital District, was the target of a cyberattack on its computer systems in November 2024. According to the settlement notice, files that were accessed or taken without authorization may have contained names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers and driver's license or state ID numbers. The settlement agreement also lists types of protected health information, such as patient account numbers, health insurance member numbers, diagnoses and treatment information.A patient who received a breach notice letter sued the hospital on April 9, 2025, in Itasca County District Court, and a second patient joined the case in May 2025. The lawsuit alleges the hospital did not adequately protect patients' information. Bigfork Valley denies the allegations and any liability, and the court has not decided who is right. After an unsuccessful mediation in January 2026, the two sides reached an agreement in principle on May 7, 2026. Bigfork Valley says the settlement class is about 8,495 people.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is all individuals living in the United States whose personal or health information was compromised in the November 2024 Bigfork Valley Hospital data security incident and who were identified and sent notice of the incident. Most class members are current or former patients, or their dependents or beneficiaries. Bigfork Valley, any judge in the case and the judge's staff, and anyone who opts out are excluded.A settlement notice from the administrator, Simpluris, means Bigfork Valley's records list that person as a class member. Some class members also received an earlier breach letter directly from the hospital.
How Much Can Class Members Get?
The settlement offers three kinds of cash reimbursement, plus monitoring:- Lost time: up to $80. $20 an hour for one to four hours spent dealing with the breach, such as changing passwords, checking accounts or health insurance statements, calling banks or credit bureaus, or reviewing the breach notice. No receipts are needed; the claimant checks boxes describing the time and signs under penalty of perjury.
- Ordinary documented losses: up to $500. Unreimbursed out-of-pocket costs from November 4, 2024 through February 1, 2027, such as credit reports, credit freezes, credit monitoring, replacement IDs and postage. Lost time counts toward this same $500 limit.
- Extraordinary documented losses: up to $2,000. Unreimbursed money lost to identity theft or fraud in the same period that was more likely than not caused by the breach, was not already claimed as an ordinary loss, and that the claimant tried to dispute or recover.
- Three years of CyEx Medical Shield Complete. Medical identity and credit monitoring with $1 million of identity theft insurance, for every class member, using the enrollment code on the notice.
All cash payments together are capped at $200,000. If approved claims exceed that, every payment is reduced by the same percentage. The cap is small next to the class: if about 2,500 of the roughly 8,495 class members each claimed the full $80 for lost time, that alone would reach $200,000. Attorneys' fees of up to $100,000, the class representatives' $2,500 awards and up to $45,000 in administration and monitoring costs are paid by Bigfork Valley separately and do not reduce the $200,000.
Approved claimants can choose payment by PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, virtual prepaid card or paper check. Payments are good for 90 days, and under the agreement, money from checks that are never cashed goes back to Bigfork Valley.
What Proof or Login Is Required?
The online claim form opens only with the Login ID and PIN printed on the settlement notice. Class members who no longer have them can ask the administrator to look them up using their full name and mailing address, through the contact options on the settlement website. A paper claim form can also be downloaded and mailed.Claims for ordinary or extraordinary losses need third-party documentation, such as receipts or bank statements, showing the amount and that it was caused by the breach. Notes a claimant writes alone are not enough, although they can explain other records. Claimants also swear that the expenses were not reimbursed and that no one else is claiming the same losses. A lost-time claim needs only the checkbox attestation.
The monitoring needs no claim form. The enrollment code is on the notice, and the subscription starts after final approval. The website's Enrollment Instruction Request page lets class members sign up for a reminder email with enrollment instructions once the settlement is final.
What Are the Deadlines?
- Claim deadline: February 1, 2027. The settlement agreement sets its deadlines at 11:59:59 p.m. prevailing Central Time; mailed claims must be postmarked by that date.
- Opt-out deadline: January 1, 2027, by a signed written request postmarked by that date. Opting out keeps the right to sue Bigfork Valley separately and gives up all settlement benefits.
- Objection deadline: January 1, 2027, filed with the Itasca County Clerk of Court, with a copy to the administrator.
- Final approval hearing: March 1, 2027, at 2:00 p.m. Central Time, at the Itasca County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
How to File a Claim
Claims are filed on the official Bigfork Valley Data Settlement website, run by Simpluris. The online form asks for the Login ID and PIN, the type of claim, any supporting documents and a payment method. The Important Documents page has the printable claim form, which can be mailed to the address printed on it.What Happens Next?
The court will consider final approval, the $100,000 fee request and the class representative awards at the March 1, 2027 hearing. The administrator reviews claims and gives claimants with incomplete claims 21 days to fix them. Payments are sent after the settlement becomes final, including the end of any appeals, and after all claims are reviewed; Bigfork Valley then has 45 days to fund approved claims. No payment date had been announced as of November 5, 2026.As part of the settlement, Bigfork Valley will give class counsel a confidential declaration describing the security improvements it has made since the breach. That declaration will not be filed publicly.
Sources and Verification
- Official settlement website, Schaefer v. Bigfork
- Settlement Agreement and Release, with exhibits
- Long Form Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement
- Claim Form and Release
OpenClassActions.com is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the court, the parties or the settlement administrator. This page is general information and is not legal advice.
Questions
Does the Bigfork Valley settlement pay anything without receipts?
The lost-time payment needs no receipts. Class members who spent at least an hour dealing with the breach can claim $20 an hour for up to four hours, or $80 at most, by checking boxes on the claim form that describe how the time was spent and signing under penalty of perjury. Every other cash payment requires documentation, and filing online requires the Login ID and PIN from the notice.
How do class members get the three years of medical identity monitoring?
No claim form is needed for the monitoring. Every class member's settlement notice carries an enrollment code for three years of CyEx Medical Shield Complete, which includes $1 million of medical identity theft insurance. The subscription becomes active only after the court grants final approval. Class members who lost the code can ask the settlement administrator for it through the official settlement website.
What if a class member lost the Login ID and PIN?
The administrator will look up a class member's Login ID and PIN on request, using the full name and mailing address that Bigfork Valley had on file. Requests go through the contact options listed on the official settlement website.
Can Bigfork Valley settlement payments be reduced?
All cash payments together are capped at $200,000. If approved claims add up to more than that, every payment is cut by the same percentage. Attorneys' fees, the class representatives' awards and administration costs are paid separately by Bigfork Valley and do not come out of the $200,000.
When will Bigfork Valley settlement payments be sent?
Payments go out only after the court grants final approval, any appeals are resolved and all claims have been reviewed. The final approval hearing is March 1, 2027, and no payment date had been announced as of November 5, 2026.
