For trial lawyers, future litigation might not focus so heavily on auto accident, slip-and-fall and medical malpractice cases. Plaintiffs attorneys are finding new business by taking on lawsuits in which clients claim to have been hurt – financially or otherwise – through data breaches.
With hospitals pushing to put patient records into electronic form, all it takes is one lost laptop or a single data security lapse – and the personal information of tens of thousands of people is exposed to a vast audience. According to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the personal medical data for more than 11 million people may have been exposed improperly during the past two years.
