A lawsuit accuses Covenant Health of failing to protect patient data after a recent cyberattack that disrupted hospital systems in Maine.
PORTLAND, Maine — Covenant Health is facing a class-action lawsuit following a cybersecurity breach that forced multiple hospitals in Maine to take their systems offline.
Covenant Health operates St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston and St. Joseph Healthcare in Bangor.
On May 25, the company detected unusual activity in its networks and shut down access to hospital data systems across its facilities.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Penobscot County by Michael McClain, accuses Covenant Health of failing to protect patients’ private information. The complaint alleges that hospital leaders employed ineffective and low-cost security systems to safeguard personal data.
The company has not confirmed whether any patient information was compromised and declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.
Central Maine Healthcare, which includes Central Maine Medical Center, Bridgton Hospital, and Rumford Hospital, also reported a cyber incident shortly after Covenant. Both hospital systems temporarily shut down their computer networks.
It remains unclear whether the two incidents are connected or carried out by the same group.
MaineHealth, the state’s largest healthcare provider, severed digital ties with both systems “out of an abundance of caution.” Its leaders say they do not believe MaineHealth’s own systems were affected.
Covenant says it has hired outside cybersecurity experts to investigate and restore system access and has encouraged patients to keep existing appointments.
