New Jersey businesses can be held liable for data breaches involving sensitive healthcare data, even if the information wasn’t misused.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey may be held liable for a data breach under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), despite the lack of evidence that any of the stolen data was used to the plaintiffs’ detriment.
Healthcare Data Breaches The Court’s decision in serves as an important reminder of the significant liability New Jersey businesses can face in the wake of patient data breach. According to several studies, the healthcare companies are more susceptible to data breaches when compared to other industries. In fact, the Ponemon Institute found that almost 90 percent of all healthcare organizations it studied suffered at least one data breach in the past two years. On average, those cyberattacks cost $2.2 million per incident.
Risk Mitigation Steps Because of the significant risk of exposure faced by healthcare companies, it is important that they take appropriate steps to address those risks. For example:
Review IT infrastructure with those that maintain the company’s servers, hardware, software and cloud-based systems to ensure proper security systems are in place. As companies may be held liable for a data breach despite a lack of evidence of misuse or breach, ensuring that the proper standard of care is taken to protect patient data is essential to mitigating risk.
Review policies, handbooks, and security procedures applicable to company personnel and personnel of key business associates. Employees are the first line of defense against purposeful third party intrusion and accidental misuse.
Review agreements with vendors and suppliers to ensure that they are committing to a proper standard of care and are properly responsible for any data breach they cause affecting company’s patients’ data.
Ensuring proper disclosure is made to patients regarding the company’s use, sharing, storage and transmittal of company’s patients’ data and obtaining a proper acknowledgment of any such disclosure.
Potential Resources This is a growing area of potential risk and liability. New Jersey businesses that handle personal health information or other patient data should take steps to minimize the risk of data breaches. Those steps should include consulting with attorneys specializing in cybersecurity risk analysis and mitigation to help navigate these steps.
Section 363 Sales in Bankruptcy: What Businesses, Lenders, and Buyers Need to Know
When a company enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy, many assume the process will culminate in a lengthy reorganization plan. However, distressed businesses are increasingly being sold through a different mechanism — a sale under Section 363 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. A Section 363 sale allows a company, as a debtor-in-possession in bankruptcy, to sell […]
Zoning Laws Explained: What You Need to Know Before Buying Property
Before buying property, it is critical to determine whether local zoning laws may affect your plans. If you plan to redevelop the property, you will want to confirm that local zoning regulations permit development as intended. If acquiring property that is already developed, you must verify that the use is permitted in the underlying zoning […]
Special Needs Trusts in New Jersey: Planning for Your Loved One’s Future
For parents of a child with a disability, estate planning raises concerns that go well beyond deciding who will inherit their assets. Parents may spend years making sure their child has the right care, services, and support. Eventually, they must also confront a difficult question: Who will take over when they can no longer do […]
What Every Real Estate Investor Should Know Before Buying a Rental Property
Before buying a New Jersey rental property, an investor should verify realistic operating numbers, the property’s legal and regulatory status, lead-based paint and flood compliance, the existing leases and tenant protections, and the right ownership structure. A rental property is more than a piece of real estate; it is an operating business subject to legal, […]
Can You Change an Irrevocable Trust in New Jersey?
In New Jersey, an irrevocable trust can sometimes be modified even though its name suggests otherwise, and one of the primary tools for doing so is a process called decanting. Whether decanting is available depends on the specific terms of the trust and the discretion given to the trustee. Key takeaways: New Jersey has no […]
How Intellectual Property Valuation Will Impact Business Transactions
Intellectual property valuation determines the monetary value of a business’s IP assets, and it drives outcomes in licensing deals, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, financing, and ownership disputes. The most valuable assets of a business are often the things that cannot be seen or touched: a proprietary process, a copyrighted work, brand recognition, or the […]
No Aspect of the advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
Sign up to get the latest from our attorneys!
Explore What Matters Most to You.
Consider subscribing to our Firm Insights mailing list by clicking the button below so you can keep up to date with the firm`s latest articles covering various legal topics.
Stay informed and inspired with the latest updates, insights, and events from Scarinci Hollenbeck. Our resource library provides valuable content across a range of categories to keep you connected and ahead of the curve.
Let`s get in touch!
Sign up to get the latest from the Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC attorneys!
