Data breaches have become increasingly common over the past several years. In addition to consumers, these breaches can burden banks and credit card companies, which must respond to a flood of fraud claims and canceled cards. However, many data breach victims receive compensation for damages through multimillion-dollar settlements.
Major Data Breach Class Action Settlements
Last year, Yahoo! reached a $117.5M settlement to resolve the claims of approximately 194 million class members following a significant data breach of their own. This data breach consisted of passwords, usernames, emails, social security numbers, bank records, and medical records.
In 2018, Marriott Hotels suffered a significant data breach, which impacted over 500 million consumers. This data breach started in 2014 and went undetected for four (4) years. Ultimately, this class action claim hasn’t been publicly settled.
In 2017, Equifax suffered a data breach that impacted 147 million consumers and their personal information. Equifax settled this class action suit last January and paid $575 million in this settlement.
These are the three most significant and most recent data breach settlements in the past few years. However, other recent examples include Anthem Inc, Home Depot, and Sony.
Determining If You Have a Claim
A licensed attorney can accurately determine your eligibility for a data breach lawsuit. The attorney will do the following:
- Determine if the company failed to adopt the appropriate safeguards that would have prevented the breach from occurring.
- Determine if the company notified customers immediately after it learned of the breach.
- Obtain a complete list of all individuals involved.
- Review the company’s policies and customer agreements to determine if they violated them.
The attorney will also determine if any state laws have been violated. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you could receive compensation for damages from the breach.
Data Breach Attorneys
Maginnis Howard’s data breach class action attorneys can help determine the damages you incurred from the breach and help you seek reimbursement for your losses. These may include:
- The cost of replacing credit/debit cards and obtaining credit reports and credit insurance.
- Service fees are charged by companies that will help secure personal information and monitor your accounts for fraudulent activity.
- Any out-of-pocket expenses that you incur as a result of the breach.
If your personal information has been breached and your identity has been compromised, Maginnis Howard’s data breach class action attorneys would like to speak with you. Visit our contact page for more information on our three conveniently located offices in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Fayetteville. We serve clients across North and South Carolina.
