Published
August 25, 2026
Updated
August 31, 2026
People notified that their information was involved in the November 2024 cyberattack on WPM Pathology Laboratory and Salina Regional Health Center may qualify to claim a flat $45 with no documentation, or up to $4,480 with proof, from the WPM Pathology data breach class action settlement. Claims are open through October 19, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open. Everything is due on the same day: October 19, 2026 is the deadline to submit a claim form, to exclude yourself, and to object. That is unusual — most settlements set an earlier opt-out date — and it means there is one date to remember rather than two, but no grace period after it. The court has scheduled a final approval hearing for December 16, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time, to be held by ZoomGov, and the settlement has not yet been approved. No payment date has been announced: the notice says payments are distributed only if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved, and that it is not known whether appeals will be filed.
Status
Claims Open
Final approval hearing December 16, 2026 by ZoomGov
Claim Deadline
October 19, 2026
The same date is also the deadline to opt out and to object
Estimated Payout
$45 flat, or up to $4,480
$45 needs no proof · the documented tiers and lost time stack to $4,480 but exclude the $45 · plus two years of credit monitoring
Proof Required
Yes
LoginID and PIN from your mailed notice to file online · the $45 option itself needs no documentation
What Changed Recently?
The settlement is newly open to claims. WPM Pathology Laboratory and Salina Regional Health Center, Inc. have agreed to resolve Steinle v. WPM Pathology Laboratory, and Salina Regional Health Center, Inc., Case No. SA-2025-CV-000218, in the District Court of Saline County, Kansas, and the court has authorized notice to the class. Simpluris is administering it.Both defendants deny that they did anything wrong, and the court has not decided who is right. The parties agreed to settle to avoid the costs, risks, disruption and uncertainty of continuing the litigation. No finding of liability has been made against either defendant.
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What the Case Is About
The lawsuit concerns a targeted cyberattack on WPM Pathology Laboratory's computer systems in November 2024, during which the complaint alleges that files containing private information were accessed.According to the notice, those files may have contained dates of birth, Social Security numbers, diagnosis information, medical record numbers and health insurance claims information. That is a wider and more sensitive spread than a typical breach: Social Security numbers support identity theft, while diagnosis data and medical record numbers can enable medical identity fraud that ordinary credit monitoring will not catch.
Salina Regional Health Center is named alongside the laboratory, and the notice says the defendants together sent individual notification letters to affected people.
Who Qualifies?
The court defined the class as all whose private information was compromised in the data breach, including everyone to whom the defendants sent an individual notification letter about it.The notice adds that the defendants' records indicate notice recipients are class members entitled to benefits, and that some people may have received an earlier notice directly from WPM Pathology before this court-authorized one.
Four groups are excluded: WPM Pathology along with its officers, directors and related companies; governmental entities; the judge in the case with the judge's family and staff; and anyone who validly excludes themselves from the settlement.
How Much Can You Get?
Every class member can enroll in the monitoring. The cash side has four options, and the structure rewards anyone who kept records.- Two years of CyEx Identity Defense Complete. Available to every class member, with $1 million in identity theft insurance, real-time credit file monitoring, dark web scanning and public records monitoring, plus access to a fraud resolution agent.
- Documented ordinary out-of-pocket expenses — up to $400. For losses incurred between November 4, 2024 and October 19, 2026: fees for credit reports, credit monitoring or credit freezes, the cost of replacing IDs, and postage to contact banks by mail.
- Documented extraordinary losses — up to $4,000. For money actually lost to identity theft or fraud in the same window.
- Lost time — up to $80. Four hours at $20.00 per hour for time spent responding to the breach, with a brief description of how it was spent. No receipts for this one.
- Alternative cash payment — a flat $45. No proof and no explanation required.
The key to the structure is which options combine. The notice says class members may claim the monitoring and "one or more of the cash payment options," so the two documented tiers and the lost-time payment can be claimed together — $400 plus $4,000 plus $80 comes to a $4,480 ceiling. The $45 alternative is the exception: it is offered "instead of any other cash payment option," so taking it forecloses the rest.
In practice that means the decision is straightforward. If you have receipts, the documented route is worth far more. If you have nothing to document but did spend time on this, the $80 lost-time claim beats the $45 flat payment. The $45 is for people who want to file in two minutes with no description at all.
The $4,000 extraordinary tier carries three requirements beyond receipts: you must show the theft or fraud was more likely than not caused by this breach, that the loss is not already covered by the ordinary expenses option, and that you took steps to prevent or recover the loss, such as using insurance you already hold. That last mitigation requirement is the one claimants most often miss.
Expenses already reimbursed by a third party cannot be claimed under either documented tier.
What Proof Is Required?
Filing online requires the LoginID and PIN printed on the notice mailed to you — the claim page is a login screen, so those credentials are not optional there. If you no longer have them, the settlement website explains how to request them from the administrator by supplying your full name and mailing address. A printable claim form can also be downloaded from the official site and returned by mail or email.Past that credential, the documentation burden varies sharply by option:
- The $45 alternative cash: no proof, no explanation.
- Lost time: no receipts — a brief description of how you spent the time.
- Either documented tier: proof such as receipts showing how much you spent or lost. Self-prepared notes may support other proof but are never enough on their own, and your documentation should show the expense was because of this breach.
What Are the Deadlines?
One date carries all three decisions, which is worth stating plainly because it is the opposite of the usual pattern:- October 19, 2026 — submit a claim. Online or by email by that date, or postmarked if mailed.
- October 19, 2026 — exclude yourself. A written Request for Exclusion must be postmarked, submitted or emailed by the same date, carrying the case name and number, your contact details, your personal signature, and the words "Request for Exclusion" or a clear equivalent.
- October 19, 2026 — object. Objections must be filed with the Clerk of Court by that date, with copies to the administrator, Class Counsel and defense counsel.
The objection requirements are demanding. Beyond your reasons, an objector must disclose whether they or their lawyer have objected in any other case in the past five years — with case names, courts, ruling orders and civil action numbers — provide a full list of any witnesses or documents they intend to present, and state whether they want to speak at the hearing. Your own signature is required; your lawyer's alone is not sufficient. The notice states that an objection failing any of these requirements is not valid.
Objecting does not stop you from claiming. The notice confirms that a class member who objects may also file a claim for settlement benefits.
How Do You File?
Claims go through the official settlement website, WPMPL Data Breach.com, run by Simpluris. Filing online with your LoginID and PIN is the fastest route; the same site hosts a downloadable claim form for anyone who prefers mail or email, plus the long-form notice and the settlement agreement.Filing is free, and class members are not charged for Class Counsel's services.
Who Pays the Fees
There is no common fund here, which works in class members' favor. The court appointed Grayson Wells of Stranch, Jennings & Garvey PLLC and Richard Fisk of Beam-Ward, Kruse, Wilson & Fletes LLC as Class Counsel. They will ask the court to approve $150,000.00 in attorneys' fees and litigation costs, plus a service award of $2,500.00 for the class representative. The notice states that WPM Pathology pays both.Because those payments come from the defendant rather than out of a pot that would otherwise be divided among claimants, they do not reduce anyone's recovery. On a fund-based settlement the reverse is true.
What You Give Up
Staying in the class means you cannot be part of any other lawsuit against WPM Pathology or Salina Regional Health Center about the issues this settlement covers. The Releases section of the settlement agreement, Section XI, sets out what is given up, and the agreement is posted on the official website.Doing nothing does not avoid that. A class member who never files still releases those claims and receives no cash — the only way to keep the right to sue individually is to opt out by October 19, 2026.
What Happens Next?
At the December 16, 2026 hearing the court will decide whether to approve the settlement, how Class Counsel should be paid, whether to grant the service award, and will consider any objections. The hearing is being held by ZoomGov, and the access link is published in the notice and on the official settlement website. The notice cautions that the date and time may change without further notice, so anyone planning to attend should confirm on the website first.If approval is granted, payments follow only after any appeals are resolved. The notice is candid that it is unknown whether appeals will be filed or how long they would take, so no payment date exists yet.
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website — WPMPL Data Breach.com• Court-authorized Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement, and the settlement website's FAQ and claim pages
• Steinle v. WPM Pathology Laboratory, and Salina Regional Health Center, Inc., No. SA-2025-CV-000218 (Dist. Ct. Saline Cnty., Kan.) — Settlement Agreement, posted on the official website
Questions
Can I combine the cash options, or do I have to pick one?
It depends which one you start from. The notice says class members may claim credit monitoring and one or more of the cash payment options, so the documented ordinary expenses, documented extraordinary losses and lost time can be claimed together. The $45 alternative cash payment is different — it is offered instead of any other cash payment option, so taking it rules the others out.
What is the most I could actually receive?
Adding the three stackable options gives $4,480 — up to $400 in documented ordinary out-of-pocket expenses, up to $4,000 in documented extraordinary losses from identity theft or fraud, and up to $80 for four hours of lost time at $20 per hour. That ceiling requires documenting nearly everything. Anyone without records is choosing between $45 flat and $80 of attested time.
What has to be shown for the $4,000 extraordinary loss tier?
Three things beyond receipts. You must show the theft or fraud was more likely than not caused by this breach, that the loss is not already covered by the ordinary out-of-pocket expenses option, and that you tried to prevent the loss or recover the money — for example by using insurance you already have. That mitigation requirement is the part most claimants overlook.
Why is every deadline the same date?
In this settlement they genuinely are. October 19, 2026 is the deadline to submit a claim, to exclude yourself, and to object. That is unusual — on most settlements the opt-out date falls weeks before the claim date — so there is no early cutoff to catch you out here, but there is also no second chance after the 19th.
What if I no longer have the LoginID and PIN from my notice?
The online claim portal is a login screen requiring the LoginID and PIN printed on the notice mailed to you. The settlement website explains how to request those credentials from the administrator by providing your full name and mailing address. A printable claim form can also be downloaded from the official site and returned by mail or email.
Official Settlement Notice
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
No common fund
Benefits, fees and the service award paid by WPM Pathology
Case Title
Steinle v. WPM Pathology Laboratory, and Salina Regional Health Center, Inc.
Case Number
SA-2025-CV-000218
Court
District Court of Saline County, Kansas
Final Approval Hearing
December 16, 2026 at 9:00 AM CT
By ZoomGov · date and time may change
Administrator
Simpluris
Official Website
WPMPL Data Breach.com
