U.S. residents whose information was impacted in the June 18 to July 16, 2025 data incident at Hampton Regional Medical Center in Varnville, South Carolina, may qualify to claim an estimated $20 cash payment or up to $5,000 in documented losses, plus a year of credit monitoring, from the Hampton Regional Medical Center data breach class action settlement. Claims close January 11, 2027.
Current Status
Claims are open. Online claims are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 11, 2027, and mailed claims must be postmarked by that date. The court granted preliminary approval on August 13, 2026 and has set the final approval hearing for January 25, 2027. No payment date had been announced as of October 24, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
Hampton Regional Medical Center, a 32-bed, not-for-profit community hospital in Varnville, South Carolina, has agreed to a $250,000 non-reversionary settlement to resolve claims over a 2025 data incident. Judge Marvin H. Dukes III of the Hampton County Court of Common Pleas (Fourteenth Judicial Circuit) granted preliminary approval on August 13, 2026 in In re Hampton Regional Medical Center Data Incident Litigation, No. 2025CP2500280. Kroll Settlement Administration is the court-approved administrator.The settlement agreement says the hospital became aware on or about July 16, 2025 that a third party had accessed its computer systems and network between June 18 and July 16, 2025. On July 24, 2025, Savannah station WTOC reported that the hospital had posted a statement saying it had "experienced a cyber incident," and that patients described being unable to get records, prescriptions and appointments handled for more than a week.
The agreement says the hospital began notifying affected people on September 12, 2025. In a later notice letter dated March 4, 2026, the hospital said it had posted a formal notice of its ongoing investigation on its website in September 2025, finished its investigation on January 6, 2026, and offered letter recipients 24 months of Experian IdentityWorks identity monitoring.
Two lawsuits filed in the Hampton County court were consolidated in October 2025, and a consolidated complaint filed November 21, 2025 asserts claims for negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment and breach of confidence. A separate federal suit, Tant v. Hampton Regional Medical Center, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on March 12, 2026 and voluntarily dismissed on July 23, 2026. Hampton Regional Medical Center denies wrongdoing, and no court has found that it did anything wrong.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is all living individuals residing in the United States whose private information was impacted in the Hampton Regional Medical Center data incident. The notice says class members are people who received a letter from the hospital notifying them that their private information was accessed or acquired. The judge, the judge's immediate family, court staff and anyone who opts out are excluded.The information involved varied by person. According to the settlement agreement, the affected files may have included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license or state ID numbers, medical information and other demographic information. The federal complaint estimated that at least 501 people were affected; the settlement documents do not state a class size.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement creates a $250,000 non-reversionary fund. Each class member who files a valid claim can choose one of two cash payments, and can also request credit monitoring:- Cash Payment A — documented losses: reimbursement of up to $5,000 for documented out-of-pocket losses connected to the data incident, supported by reasonable documentation and an attestation under penalty of perjury. Losses already reimbursed from another source are not covered.
- Cash Payment B — alternative cash: a pro rata share of the net settlement fund with no documentation, estimated in the court-approved notice at about $20. The final amount depends on how many valid claims are filed.
- Credit monitoring: one year of one-bureau credit monitoring with medical identity monitoring, real-time alerts and up to $1,000,000 in medical identity theft insurance, available whether or not the class member enrolled in an earlier monitoring service.
The fund pays credit monitoring first, then documented-loss claims, then the alternative cash payments. Cash payments are adjusted up or down by the same percentage so the net fund is used up. A documented-loss claim that is found deficient and is not cured is converted to the alternative cash payment.
Class counsel may ask the court for up to $150,000 in attorneys' fees and up to $15,000 in costs, and the class representatives may request service awards of up to $2,500 each, all paid from the fund if the court approves them. Any money left in the fund after payments goes to a court-approved cy pres recipient rather than back to the hospital. Separately, the hospital says it has spent about $550,000 on information security improvements, including file server protection, endpoint detection and response, backup modernization and IT staffing, which it will maintain for at least five years.
The credit monitoring in the settlement is separate from the 24 months of Experian identity monitoring the hospital offered in its March 2026 notice letter, which had an enrollment deadline of May 31, 2026.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
The online claim form opens with a login step that requires the Class Member ID printed on the notice; it is marked as a required field, and the form cannot be started without it. Because filing online depends on that identifier, this settlement is listed as Proof Required: Yes.The estimated $20 alternative cash payment needs no documentation of losses. A claim for documented losses up to $5,000 requires records showing the out-of-pocket costs, such as receipts, bank or card statements or invoices, along with a signed attestation.
What Is the Deadline?
Claims must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 11, 2027, or mailed with a postmark no later than January 11, 2027.The deadline to opt out of the settlement, or to object to it, is December 24, 2026. The court-approved notice sets out how an exclusion request or an objection must be submitted.
How Do You Take Action?
Claims are filed through the official Hampton Regional Medical Center data settlement website. The online form asks for the Class Member ID from the notice, then class member information, the cash option and credit monitoring election, payment information and a signed attestation. A documented-loss claim needs supporting records attached. Online filers can choose an electronic payment or a paper check; people who mail a claim form receive a paper check.What Happens Next?
The final approval hearing is scheduled for January 25, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time before Judge Dukes, held virtually by WebEx. The court will decide then whether to grant final approval and how much to award in fees, costs and service awards. Under the settlement agreement, benefits are distributed no later than 90 days after the settlement's Effective Date, which follows final approval and the resolution of any appeals. Checks must be cashed within 120 days.Related coverage: the Roseland Community Hospital data breach settlement and the Wayne Memorial Hospital data breach settlement are other community-hospital cases with open claims, and the guide to medical identity theft after a data breach explains how stolen health information is misused.
Sources and Verification
- Official Hampton Regional Medical Center data settlement website (Kroll Settlement Administration), including the online claim form
- Court-approved long form notice, In re Hampton Regional Medical Center Data Incident Litigation, No. 2025CP2500280 (Hampton County Court of Common Pleas)
- Settlement agreement and the preliminary approval order signed August 13, 2026, In re Hampton Regional Medical Center Data Incident Litigation, No. 2025CP2500280
- Hampton Regional Medical Center notice letter dated March 4, 2026, as filed with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office (breach notice 2026-321)
- Tant v. Hampton Regional Medical Center, No. 9:26-cv-01060 (D.S.C.) — docket and complaint
- Hampton Regional Medical Center: Important Notice — Cyber Incident
- WTOC: Hampton County Regional Medical Center facing issues due to cyber incident (July 24, 2025)
Questions
What happened in the Hampton Regional Medical Center data incident?
According to the settlement agreement, Hampton Regional Medical Center became aware on or about July 16, 2025 of a cybersecurity incident in which a third party accessed its computer systems and network between June 18 and July 16, 2025. Files involved may have included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license or state ID numbers, medical information and other demographic information.
Why is the $20 payment only an estimate?
The alternative cash payment is a pro rata share of what remains in the $250,000 fund after court-approved fees, costs and service awards, credit monitoring and documented-loss claims are paid, so the final amount depends on how many people file. The court-approved notice estimates it at about $20; the settlement agreement, signed earlier, had estimated about $45.
Can a class member get both cash options?
The settlement allows one cash option per class member: documented losses up to $5,000 or the estimated $20 alternative cash payment. The one year of credit monitoring can be requested in addition to either cash option.
What happens to a documented-loss claim that is not approved?
Under the settlement agreement, a claim for documented losses that the administrator finds deficient, and that is not cured, is converted to the alternative cash payment instead of being rejected outright.
Is the settlement's credit monitoring the same as the Experian service in the hospital's notice letter?
No. The hospital's notice letter dated March 4, 2026 offered 24 months of Experian IdentityWorks, with enrollment required by May 31, 2026. The settlement's one year of one-bureau credit monitoring, with medical identity monitoring and up to $1 million in medical identity theft insurance, is a separate benefit requested on the settlement claim form, and the agreement makes it available even to people who enrolled in an earlier service.
What happened to the federal lawsuit against Hampton Regional Medical Center?
A proposed class action over the incident, Tant v. Hampton Regional Medical Center, No. 9:26-cv-01060, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on March 12, 2026. The federal docket shows a notice of voluntary dismissal filed July 23, 2026. The settlement was reached in the separate, consolidated state-court case in Hampton County.
Did Hampton Regional Medical Center admit wrongdoing?
No. Hampton Regional Medical Center denies wrongdoing and liability, and no court has found that it did anything wrong. The claims that it failed to protect patient information are allegations that the settlement resolves without a finding of liability.
