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Blue Shield of California Data Breach

Posted on behalf of Arnold Law Firm in
NOTICE: If you received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH letter from Blue Shield of California, contact the Arnold Law Firm at 916-777-7777 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential Case Evaluation form here.
Blue Shield data breach On or about December 22, 2022, Blue Shield of California (“Blue Shield”) sent a Data Breach Letter (“Breach Letter”) to its members informing them that a confidential spreadsheet which contained their names, addresses, Social Security numbers or Taxpayer Identification Numbers, phone numbers, and email addresses (“Private Information”) was emailed by a Blue Cross employee to a personal email address (the “Data Breach”). Blue Shield claims it learned of the Data Breach on October 30, 2022. Upon further analysis, however, Blue Shield determined “that the employee additionally emailed the same spreadsheet to a personal email address on June 17, 2022.” Blue Shield says it “took action to disable the employee’s access to Blue Shield network. Blue Shield also interviewed the employee and directed the employee to permanently delete the confidential information from his personal email account.” Blue Shield does not say whether it verified if the employee deleted the Personal Information, or if the Personal Information was sent anywhere else. Blue Shield of California is a health insurance company for millions of people both in California and in other states. Blue Shield realized $21.8 billion in revenue in 2020. Potentially, the data of over 4.5 million individuals was compromised by this Data Breach. If you received a Breach Letter from Blue Shield, you were impacted by the Data Breach. Blue Shield has offered victims 12 months of Experian Identity Works credit monitoring and identity restoration services, but, in order to receive these services, members/victims must enroll by March 31, 2023.

WHAT INFORMATION IS INVOLVED?

According to Blue Cross, the following information was exposed:
  • Names
  • Social Security numbers or Tax Identification Numbers
  • Addresses
  • Phone Numbers
  • Email addresses
This information is called your Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”). It tells others about you and is considered part of your identity. Businesses are required to secure this information or risk facing statutory penalties, among other legal penalties. Stolen PII can be used by identity thieves to engage in fraudulent activity using your identity. The best way to protect yourself after a data breach is to sign up for credit and identity protection services as soon as possible. California offers extra protections and legal rights to its residents through the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”).

NOTICE: If you received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH letter from Blue Shield of California, contact the Arnold Law Firm at 916-777-7777 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential Case Evaluation form here.

Settlement - $3,767,000

Truck Accident

A 20-year-old man who had been married for just 12 days left home on his way to work. He was driving on Pleasant Grove Road in Sutter County in the early morning when he came upon a slow-moving truck. As he pulled out to pass the truck, the truck driver turned left in front of him. The young man attempted to steer back into his lane but his vehicle struck an un-flagged piece of metal extending from the back of the truck. He died in the resulting crash.

Expert witnesses brought in by the Arnold Law Firm proved that the truck, owned and operated by a hauling firm, should never have been on the highway that morning. Specifically, the rear and side turn signals did not work and the rear-view mirror was in a poor state of adjustment at the time of the collision. As a result, the driver, who had failed to properly inspect the vehicle before setting out that morning, couldn’t see the young man’s vehicle as it attempted to pass.

The poor condition of the truck, its lack of maintenance and the manner in which it was operated were found to be substantial factors in causing the collision that killed the young man. The testimony also established that the man had been making a lawful pass at the lawful speed limit and acted reasonably when he attempted to avoid the collision.

The man’s 20-year-old widow was awarded $3,767,000.77, his parents were awarded $185,131 and the family was reimbursed $11,899 in funeral expenses. Though money is a poor substitute for a young man’s life, this verdict demonstrates that drivers who endanger the lives of others will be held accountable for their actions.