Lake Charles Memorial Health Settles Data Breach Lawsuit for $2 Million

The court has given preliminary approval to a $2 million settlement to resolve a class action litigation filed against Southwest Louisiana Hospital Association, also known as Lake Charles Memorial Health, that is associated with a 2022 data breach affecting 269,752 individuals.

The Louisiana health system detected suspicious activity within its computer system on October 21, 2022, and subsequently confirmed unauthorized third-party access to its system from October 20, 2022, to October 21, 2022. During that period, the hacker exfiltrated files from the system that contained names, birth dates, addresses, medical record numbers, patient ID numbers, medical insurance data, payment details, limited clinical data, and, in certain instances, Social Security numbers. In compliance with the HIPAA breach notification law, the impacted people received breach notification letters on December 23, 2025.

On January 5, 2023, the plaintiff filed the first lawsuit prompted by the data breach in the Calcasieu Parish District Court in Louisiana. More lawsuits followed, which were consolidated into one complaint because they had overlapping claims and identical material and substance. Allegations in the Salinas et al v. Southwest Louisiana Hospital Association dba Lake Charles Memorial Health System lawsuit include claims of negligence, unjust enrichment, invasion of privacy, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence, breach of implied contract, and
breach of express contract.

Lake Charles Memorial Health denies the claims and argues there is no wrongdoing or liability. At the second mediation meeting, the parties reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit for $2 million. The class representatives think the settlement is most beneficial for all class members because of the expenses, risks, and uncertainty related to the trial, and the kind of defenses brought up by the defendant.

According to the terms of settlement, all class members could claim identity theft protection and health data monitoring services for two years. On top of that, each class member can file for one of two claims:

• a claim for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenditures fairly connected to the data breach up to $5,000, which may include around three hours of lost time valued at $25/hour.
• a claim for a cash payment, which will be paid pro rata after deducting legal expenses, up to $666,600 attorneys’ fees, 11 class representative awards worth $1,500 each, $50,000 settlement management costs, claims, and identity theft protection and health data monitoring costs.

The court has given preliminary approval to the settlement. The schedule of the final fairness hearing is November 3, 2025. The last day for filing an exclusion from the settlement is September 5, 2025. Claims may be filed on or before September 5, 2025.