“Most of Kettering Health’s focus has been on data and confidential financial information and what’s happened to it; we’re motivated to help the people,” said attorney Richard Schulte during a press conference at the Wright & Schulte law office in Vandalia.
Schulte and his law firm partner, attorney Michael Wright, are concerned Kettering Health has “put profits before people” during the network’s response to the debilitating technology breach, Schulte said.
“These people need instruction, continuity care and a plan from the Kettering Health system, and they’re not getting it,” Schulte said.
The class action lawsuit, filed last week in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, alleges Kettering Health was fully aware of potential dangers of a data breach, failed to take the appropriate steps to protect patients’ data and did not comply with regulatory guidance and industry-standard cybersecurity practices.
Earlier this month, the ransomware group Interlock claimed responsibility for the cyberattack, saying on its data leak site that it had more than 730,000 files from Kettering Health. Those files allegedly include identification cards, payment data, financial documents and more.
The lawsuit also asserts the breach has caused many victims with serious health issues to miss crucial medical appointments and treatments.
“The type of medical care that we’re talking about (varies) from someone with a broken ankle who can’t get physical therapy because they can’t access an X-ray, to the other end of the spectrum, which includes stage-three or stage-four cancer patients who can’t get treatment, or who’ve had to start all over by having their diagnostic tests run again at another medical facility,” Schulte said.
The lawsuit is seeking “monetary damages, restitution, and/or injunctive relief” for the co-plaintiffs.
The lawsuit is a “task of last resort” for patients, Schulte and Wright said.
“We’re hoping by putting continued pressure on Kettering Health that they’re going to step forward and focus on patient care and getting patients’ data back,” Schulte said.
Kettering Health said Monday it does not comment on pending litigation, but provided a brief update about services.
“Our care services are back to normal operations including radiation oncology services. Patients can also use MyChart to get in touch with their providers, schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, etc.,” a spokesperson said via email.
“Patients who had their appointments canceled during the outage are being contacted by their care teams to reschedule,” the spokesperson said . “We are working through a high volume of rescheduling. We understand these delays have been stressful and frustrating, but we ask for continued patience as our teams work diligently to connect with each patient.”
The network’s patient portal MyChart was back online last week, though only to view and schedule appointments, view prescriptions, order refills, message providers and view test results, Kettering Health said.
Those who are looking for more information about the cybersecurity incident itself can visit the FAQ page on Kettering Health’s website.
Kettering Health has 14 area medical centers and more than 120 outpatient locations throughout Western Ohio, as well as the Kettering Physician Network, which includes more than 700 board-certified providers.
