A judge has approved a settlement of $988,550 in a class-action lawsuit pertaining to patient records being wrongfully accessed by former employees at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre more than a decade ago.
The hospital on Friday said the settlement was approved following a court hearing on Aug. 30 in Peterborough.
“PRHC takes patient privacy very seriously and has a zero-tolerance policy with respect to inappropriate access to medical records,” the hospital stated. “Compensation is available to eligible class members.”
The former employees allegedly accessed the personal information of approximately 280 patients between 2011 and 2012. The hospital in 2015, in response to a Toronto Star article, noted the breaches included some records for abortion services performed at the hospital between June 3, 2010 and March 24, 2011.
Seven employees were fired as a result of the alleged patient record privacy breaches, which were reported to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
“This settlement is not an admission of liability, but is a compromise of the disputed action,” the hospital stated.
The hospital initially wanted the class-action lawsuit to be dismissed, arguing health privacy violations were the responsibility of the privacy commissioner and fell under the Personal Health Information Protection Act.
But in 2015, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that patients should be permitted to sue hospitals and staff members for privacy breaches and not be restricted to filing a complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
In October 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the hospital’s further appeal.
The agreed settlement includes a payment of up to $650 to each class member who submits a valid online claim to RicePoint, the claims administrator, on or before Nov. 30, 2023.
A class member is considered any individual, or representative of an estate of an individual, who was notified in 2011 or 2012 by PRHC that their health records were inappropriately accessed by one of four former hospital employees.
Lawyer Lawrence Greenspon with Ottawa-based Greenspon Granger Hill law firm, which represents the class, told Global News that 280 claimants were identified initially but a list of 1,052 “potential” claimants was presented to Justice Mark Andrews, who reviewed the settlement. Greenspon said four individuals have since opted out.
Class members can make a claim for compensation by completing an online form.
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