Published
August 15, 2026
This settlement resolves claims over the August 2022 cyberattack on Tift Regional Health System and Southwell, the Tifton, Georgia hospital network. If you were notified that your information was involved, you can claim an estimated $75 in cash or up to $5,000 in documented losses, plus two years of medical identity monitoring.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to file online or by mail is October 15, 2026, and mailed claim forms must be postmarked by that date; the Notice does not specify a cutoff time or timezone, so do not assume one. The final approval hearing is scheduled for September 14, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the Superior Court for Tift County, Georgia, and the court has not yet ruled on final approval. No payment date has been announced as of August 15, 2026. If you received a notice about the Tift data security incident, file your claim now rather than waiting on the hearing.
Status
Claims Open
Final approval hearing set for September 14, 2026 · no ruling yet
Claim Deadline
October 15, 2026
Online submissions and mailed postmarks both due that day
Estimated Payout
~$75 · or up to $5,000
$1.2M fund · estimated $75 pro rata Alternative Cash Payment, or documented out-of-pocket losses up to $5,000 · plus 2 years of CyEx Medical Shield Complete monitoring with $1M in medical identity theft insurance
Proof Required
Yes
The online claim portal requires the Login ID and PIN printed on your notice · receipts, statements, or similar records also needed for the documented-loss tier
What Changed Recently?
The court authorized notice to the class and opened the claim process for the settlement of In re Tift Regional Health System, Inc. Data Breach Litigation, Case No. 2023CV0313, pending in the Superior Court for Tift County, Georgia. Under the agreement, Tift Regional Health System, Inc. and Southwell, Inc. will establish a $1,200,000 settlement fund, and class members can now file for cash and monitoring benefits through the settlement administrator, Simpluris.Tift denies that it did anything wrong, and the court has not decided who is right. The parties state that they agreed to settle to avoid the cost, risk, and delay of continued litigation.
Who Qualifies?
The court defined the class as all individuals residing in the United States whose private information may have been compromised or otherwise impacted in the data security incident, including everyone who received notice of the breach. In practice, if Tift or Southwell sent you a breach notice about the August 2022 incident, you are a class member.Excluded from the class are the judge or judges presiding over the litigation and their immediate family and staff; Tift and its officers, directors, related companies, successors, predecessors, and any entity in which Tift has a controlling interest; anyone who validly excludes themselves from the settlement; and the successors or assigns of any excluded person.
The underlying incident was a targeted cyberattack on Tift's computer systems in August 2022. According to the Notice, files that were accessed may have contained names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and medical information. Tift began notifying affected individuals in August 2023; the incident was reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as affecting roughly 180,142 people. We covered the notification at the time in our Tift Regional Health System data breach investigation.
How Much Can You Get?
The $1.2 million fund first pays court-approved attorneys' fees and costs, service awards, and administration expenses. What remains funds the class benefits below. Every class member is eligible for the monitoring benefit and for one of the two cash options — you choose between the cash tiers, but you do not have to give up monitoring to take cash.- Medical identity monitoring — two years of CyEx Medical Shield Complete, which includes $1 million in medical identity theft insurance and monitors for healthcare insurance ID exposure, Medical Record Number (MRN) exposure, and unauthorized Health Savings Account spending, with access to a fraud resolution agent.
- Documented Loss Payment — reimbursement of up to $5,000 for actual, documented out-of-pocket losses traceable to the incident and incurred between August 11, 2022 and October 15, 2026. Covered examples in the Notice include losses from identity theft or fraud, fees for credit reports, credit monitoring, or credit freezes and unfreezes, the cost of replacing IDs, and postage to contact banks by mail. Expenses already reimbursed by a third party cannot be claimed.
- Alternative Cash Payment — instead of the documented-loss tier, a one-time pro rata payment estimated at $75. This figure is an estimate, not a guarantee: whatever is left in the fund after all other expenses and benefits is divided equally among everyone who claims it, so the final amount depends on how many valid claims are filed.
One discrepancy is worth knowing before you file. The long-form Notice authorized by the court and the FAQ page on the official settlement website both cap documented losses at $5,000. A summary paragraph on the settlement website's home page states $4,500 instead. The Settlement Agreement and the court-approved Notice control, and the FAQ matches them, so we report $5,000 here — but check the figure on the claim form itself before relying on either number.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
Proof is required. To start an online claim you must log in with the Login ID and PIN printed on the notice that was mailed or emailed to you. That administrator-issued credential gates the online filing path, which makes this a proof-required settlement even for the Alternative Cash Payment, which itself needs no loss documentation.If you claim the Documented Loss Payment, you must also submit supporting records — bank statements, receipts, or similar third-party documents showing what you spent or lost. Self-prepared notes or written explanations may be submitted to support or explain other proof, but the Notice states that such materials alone are not enough to make a valid claim, and your documentation should connect the expense to the data security incident.
If you cannot locate your Login ID and PIN, request them through the contact page on the official settlement website, providing your full name and mailing address. A printable claim form is also posted on the settlement website and can be completed and mailed with your supporting documentation.
What Is the Deadline?
Claim forms submitted online must be filed by October 15, 2026. Mailed claim forms, including supporting documentation, must be signed and postmarked no later than October 15, 2026. The Notice states the date without specifying a cutoff time or timezone, so treat the full date as the deadline and do not assume an end-of-day rule.Two earlier dates apply to people who want out or who object. The deadline to exclude yourself from the settlement is September 15, 2026, and a valid Request for Exclusion must identify the litigation by name and case number, give your full name and contact information, carry your personal signature, and state clearly that you do not want to participate. Objections must be filed with the Clerk of Court by September 15, 2026, with a copy sent to the settlement administrator, and must meet each of the requirements listed in the Notice, including your signature and a description of your reasons. You cannot object if you have excluded yourself.
How Do You Take Action?
File through the official Tift Data Settlement website. The online claim form opens after you log in with the Login ID and PIN from your notice. Choose either the Documented Loss Payment or the Alternative Cash Payment, indicate whether you want the two years of medical identity monitoring, and upload your supporting documents if you are claiming documented losses.If you prefer to file on paper, download the claim form from the same website, complete and sign it, and mail it with your documentation to the settlement administrator at the address printed on the form. Do not submit your claim through any third-party site — filing on the official settlement website is free.
What Happens Next?
The next milestone is the final approval hearing on September 14, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the Superior Court for Tift County, Georgia. At that hearing the court will decide whether to approve the settlement, how class counsel should be paid, and whether to award service awards; it will also consider any objections. Class counsel have said they will ask the court to approve $360,000 in attorneys' fees plus litigation costs, and service awards of $2,500 for each class representative, all paid from the fund. The Notice states that the hearing date and time may change without further notice.Settlement payments are distributed only if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved. The Notice does not say whether appeals will be filed or how long they would take, and no payment date has been announced. We will update this page when a final approval order or a payment schedule is entered.
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website — Tift Data Settlement• Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement (long-form notice)
• Settlement Agreement
• Printable Claim Form
• Official settlement FAQs
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — Breach Portal
Questions
Can I take both the cash payment and the credit monitoring?
Yes. The two years of CyEx Medical Shield Complete monitoring is offered to every class member and is separate from the cash options. The two cash tiers are the ones you must choose between: you may claim either the Documented Loss Payment or the Alternative Cash Payment, not both.
Why does the settlement website list a $4,500 documented-loss cap when the Notice says $5,000?
The long-form Notice authorized by the court and the FAQ page on the official settlement website both state a $5,000 cap on documented out-of-pocket losses. A summary paragraph on the settlement website's home page states $4,500. The Settlement Agreement and the court-approved Notice control, so class members should confirm the figure on the claim form itself before relying on either number.
What if I never received a notice or lost my Login ID and PIN?
The online claim portal requires a Login ID and PIN printed on the notice that was mailed or emailed to class members. If you cannot locate yours, request it through the contact page on the official settlement website, providing your full name and mailing address. A printable claim form is also available on the settlement website and can be submitted by mail.
Why is the final approval hearing before the claim deadline?
The court scheduled the final approval hearing for September 14, 2026, while claims remain due October 15, 2026. The two dates are set independently. Claims filed after the hearing are still timely as long as they are submitted or postmarked by October 15, 2026, and payments are distributed only after the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved.
How is the $75 Alternative Cash Payment calculated?
It is a pro rata share, not a fixed amount. After attorneys' fees, costs, service awards, administration expenses, and the other settlement benefits are paid from the $1.2 million fund, the remaining money is divided equally among everyone who claims the Alternative Cash Payment. The Notice estimates roughly $75, but the actual figure depends on how many valid claims are filed.
Official Settlement Notice
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
$1,200,000
Case Title
In re Tift Regional Health System, Inc. Data Breach Litigation
Case Number
2023CV0313
Court
Superior Court for Tift County, Georgia
Final Approval Hearing
September 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET
Tift County Superior Court, Tifton, Georgia · date and time may change without further notice
Administrator
Simpluris
Official Website
Tift Data Settlement.com
