ESCONDIDO, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Palomar Health Medical Group, or PHMG, has been experiencing disruptions to its online system for nearly two months, and its users are fighting back. FOX 5/KUSI has now obtained a class action lawsuit against the vendor, alleging negligence and failure to maintain cybersecurity.
“It’s just unbelievable how much pain this situation has caused me,” said John Tucker, a PHMG user from Encinitas. Tucker has been without access to health care for nearly 60 days.
Our teams first met Tucker in June after Gray Bill Medical, also known as Palomar Health Medical Group’s phone and online system, went down due to “suspicious activity,” according to the vendor.
“Nothing has changed, absolutely nothing,” Tucker said. “… You still can’t get a prescription without going to the office, and then it takes three to five days to process it.”
It’s a reality that Tucker says adds to his current burden amid his fight with cancer and his wife’s struggles with multiple sclerosis.
“My wife says we should sue because she had to go to the hospital to have her catheter changed,” he said.
While Tucker has not yet filed a lawsuit, FOX 5/KUSI has since obtained a class action lawsuit filed against PHMG in late June in San Diego Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges negligence and failure to implement and maintain reasonable cybersecurity measures.
“They play chess and we play checkers,” said cybersecurity expert and ethical hacker Steven McKeon, CEO of MacguverTech.
McKeon suggests that medical groups are easy prey for hackers who can then sell their most valuable personal data on the dark web for a tidy profit.
“These systems are not able to defend against more sophisticated hackers who are using AI and newer tools. That’s why a lot of these hospital systems have been hacked, because it’s an easy target,” McKeon said.
The complaint also suggests that the plaintiff and others suffered harm, alleging that personal information exposed to criminals increased stress and fear of identity theft or fraud.
“Quality healthcare depends on the information we share with our healthcare provider — the most sensitive information. But even if you don’t have concrete evidence that your confidential information has been compromised, there’s that anticipatory trauma that it could be,” explained FOX 5 & KUSI legal analyst Wendy Patrick.
As for Tucker, not only is he worried about the disastrous care his family is receiving, but he also has to deal with the burden of the unknown regarding his private life.
“My Social Security, what can you do with that? Everything. My date of birth and my Social Security, you can do even more, my personal records? Now you know everything about me,” Tucker said.
FOX 5/KUSI reached out to Palomar Health Medical Group in June and this week for confirmation of the potential security breach and updates on the progress of its systems, but has not yet received a response.
