U of U Stolen Records Debacle Brings First, Proposed Class-Action Lawsuit

By Stephen Hunt, The Salt Lake Tribune

Jun. 13–Just days after the University of Utah Hospital and Clinics announced the theft of 2.2 million patients’ billing records containing a variety of personal information, the first lawsuit over the debacle has been filed.

In a proposed class action lawsuit filed Wednesday in 3rd District Court, former patient Patrick M. Beamish claims Perpetual Storage Inc. negligently allowed the records to be stolen, exposing him to the risk of identity theft.

Beamish’s attorney, Karra Porter, said today her client and other patients need immediate credit monitoring. Although the university has said it will provide free credit monitoring for a year to those whose social security numbers were compromised, Porter claimed that is not long enough.

Porter also wants the storage company to fund any credit repair, legal counsel and technical support for any patients whose identities are actually misused.

“We want to make sure everyone is protected,” she said. “You can’t just hope for the best.”

The university announced Tuesday that a Perpetual Storage courier picked up tapes from the hospital containing the records, but did not immediately transport them the company’s storage vault in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Instead, the courier violated company policy by leaving the records in his personal vehicle overnight outside his Kearns home. In the early hours of June 2, a thief broke into the vehicle and stole a metal box holding the tapes.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for return of the tapes, but they were still missing today, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Levi Hughes.

Attorney Porter said that while massive losses or thefts of personal data are not unheard of, this case is “fairly unique” because of its size and the “potentially sensitive” information the records contained.

The stolen patient information may include driver license numbers, birth dates, physicians’ names, insurance providers, and medical procedure codes from patients over the past 16 years. Social Security numbers were also listed for 1.3 million patient records.

Porter said her firm, Christensen & Jensen, also plans to sue the university on behalf of Beamish. “As a courtesy to the U., we are holding off on that,” Porter said. “We anticipate filing a notice of claim against the U. on Monday.”

Representatives for Perpetual Storage Inc., declined to comment on the lawsuit today.

shunt@sltrib.com

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