LifeLabs class-action settlement: Find out if you qualify for payment

If you’re a Canadian resident who used the medical services company LifeLabs on or before Dec. 17, 2019, you may qualify for up to $150 as part of the company’s $9.8 million class-action settlement.

The payment comes after a 2019 cyberattack compromised the personal information of around 8.6 million people within LifeLabs’ database, primarily from Ontario and B.C.

The stolen information included health card numbers, names, email addresses, logins, passwords, dates of birth and medical lab results.

Canadians who are entitled to compensation and complete a valid claim form will be paid between $50 and $150, LifeLabs estimated in a release from Monday. Court-approved legal fees, disbursements and taxes will be deducted.

LifeLabs said the amount paid per person will be determined based on the total number of claims filed.

All claims must be submitted by April 6, 2024.

Payments will only be made after the deadline to make a claim has passed. Claimants can choose to receive the funds by Interac e-transfer or by cheque.

The $9.8-million settlement is Canada-wide but was approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in October.

The class-action lawsuit, which was filed less than a month after news of the cyberattack, alleged LifeLabs was negligent in its protection of customer data. LifeLabs denied any negligence.

LifeLabs said it paid a ransom to hackers, though did not disclose the amount. The company said the stolen data has not been identified on the dark web “or otherwise misused by anyone.”

In 2020, privacy commissioners for Ontario and B.C. ordered LifeLabs to implement new safety measures and improve their processes for alerting customers about data breaches. The joint provincial investigation determined LifeLabs failed to protect the personal health information of millions of Canadians.

1:35 Probe finds LifeLabs failed to protect personal health information

How to submit a claim

Eligible persons can submit a claim for compensation in one of three ways.

A claim form can be completed and submitted from the official class-action website.

Completed claims forms can also be emailed to lifelabssettlement@kpmg.ca for consideration.

The two aforementioned methods are preferred, LifeLabs said, as electronic submission can be processed more quickly.

Otherwise, those affected by the cyberattack can mail their completed claims form to the following address:

KPMG INC., a subsidiary of KPMG LLP, C/O LifeLabs Claims Administrator, 600 boul. de Maisonneuve West, Suite 1500, Montréal, Québec, H3A 0A3