A class action data breach lawsuit has been filed against Waste Management of Washington, Inc. and Waste Management of Oregon, Inc. for failure to properly secure and safeguard employee-protected information.
Waste Management, Inc. gave Gallagher Bassett, Inc., a provider for risk and claims management, employees’ personal information in connection with their workers’ compensation claims, yet did nothing to ensure that Gallagher would maintain the information securely. It did no due diligence whatsoever into Gallagher’s safety and security protocols. As a result, workers’ health information was improperly secured, and data thieves stole it.
The data breach occurred during the timeframe of June 3, 2020, to September 26, 2020. Stolen data included the sensitive, confidential information of approximately 72,385 Washington residents. The compromised information includes such information as names, Social Security numbers or tax identification numbers, driver’s licenses, passports or other government identification numbers, dates of birth, usernames and passwords, employee identification numbers, financial account or credit card information, and/or electronic signatures.
Class Action Data Breach Business Obligations
Businesses have an obligation to their customers to protect their data and inform them if something happens to it. Most companies will usually offer privacy and data breach victims free credit or identity monitoring for a year or two. In some cases, this is enough. But if a business loses customer data in a cyberattack and further investigation reveals it was because of poor cybersecurity systems, it could potentially be sued in a class action lawsuit.
Advice From Emery | Reddy
As featured on KIRO News Seattle, Emery | Reddy, PLLC attorney Timothy Emery was quoted as saying ‘“Protecting yourself or your children can be a moot point since most of our private info is already compromised.” and that “It’s an arms race between cyber criminals and companies.”’
“The attorney knows cyber criminals are in it for the money, but he believes companies should spend more on cyber security. He also says a nationwide cyber security standard is needed, whether it’s state or federal law.”
‘“The evidence is there are a lot of companies that just won’t invest in the protections against cyber criminals,” Emery said.’
Learn more about how you can protect yourself against cybercrimes from KIRO 7 News Seattle.
Hire An Experienced Data Breach Lawyer
Data breach victims may be able to receive compensation through a class action lawsuit. This could include additional years of credit and identity monitoring, reimbursement for losses due to fraud related to the breach, compensation for time spent dealing with the breach, attorneys’ fees, or nominal damages.
If you think that your information has been compromised due to this data breach, contact the legal team at Emery | Reddy. You may have a case! Call us today!