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Individuals who received a notification stating the July 2023 data breach at Community First Medical Center potentially compromised their personal or health information may be eligible to claim up to $5,000 and/or credit and medical monitoring from a class action settlement.
Community First Healthcare of Illinois Inc. agreed to pay $1,000,000 to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it failed to adequately protect patient information after a cybersecurity incident on its network systems. The compromised information included personally identifiable information and personal health information.
Who can file a claim?
Class members are individuals who received a notice from Community First Medical Center informing them a data incident that occurred on or about July 12, 2023, may have impacted their personally identifiable information or personal health information.
How much is the class action settlement payment?
Class members can claim one or more of the following:
- Reimbursement for out-of-pocket losses: Class members can claim up to $5,000 for actual, documented, unreimbursed expenses the data incident most likely caused. Eligible expenses include:
- Fraud or identity theft losses
- Credit monitoring or fraud resolution services purchased after the incident
- Costs of credit reports
- Bank or other financial institution fees related to the incident
- Pro rata cash payment: Class members may instead claim a pro rata cash payment from remaining settlement funds estimated at $40 after the settlement administrator pays claims and other fees and costs. The settlement administrator will determine the final payment amount based on the number of valid claims.
- Credit and medical monitoring: All class members may elect to receive one year of three-bureau credit and medical monitoring and identity theft protection services, which includes at least $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance, dark web monitoring, medical record monitoring, health insurance plan number monitoring and access to fraud resolution agents.
How to claim a class action settlement payment
To receive a settlement payment or monitoring benefits, class members must submit a claim form by the April 2, 2026, deadline. They can file a claim online or print and mail the PDF claim form to the settlement administrator.
Settlement administrator's mailing address: Pacheco, et al. v. CFMC, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324
Required proof and claim information
- For out-of-pocket losses, claimants must provide receipts, bank statements, bills or other documents showing the expense and its connection to the data breach.
- For the alternative cash payment or credit/medical monitoring, claimants must certify that they received notice of the data incident and provide their class member ID, if available.
Payout options
- Physical check
- Electronic payment
$1 million settlement fund
The $1,000,000 settlement fund will include:
- Settlement administration costs: Amount not specified
- Attorneys' fees: Up to $333,333.33
- Attorneys' expenses: Amount not specified
- Service awards to class representatives: $1,000 each ($16,000 total)
- Credit monitoring costs: Dependent on number of valid claims
- Payments to class members: Remainder of the fund
Important dates
- Opt-out deadline: March 3, 2026
- Final approval hearing: March 25, 2026
- Deadline to file a claim: April 2, 2026
When is the Community First Medical Center settlement payout date?
The settlement administrator will issue payments and credit and medical monitoring codes to class members with valid claims after it completes claim processing and the court grants final approval of the settlement.
Why did this class action settlement happen?
The class action lawsuit alleged Community First Medical Center failed to prevent a cyberattack that exposed patient personal and health information. Plaintiffs asserted claims for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and violations of Illinois law.
Community First denies the allegations but agreed to settle to avoid the expense and uncertainty of continued litigation and a possible trial.
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