Yesterday, on behalf of millions of members of our armed services and their families, Our firm filed suit against TRICARE, the United States Department of Defense and the Secretary of Defense. The lawsuit, Gaffney v. Panetta was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C.
TRICARE provides medical insurance to members of the military and their family. As a result, TRICARE has highly confidential medical and personal records for millions of people who have bravely served our country, along with their spouses and children. TRICARE is legally responsible for maintaining the privacy of these records.
Unfortunately, TRICARE disregarded its duty. In blatant violation of federal law, TRICARE recklessly left improperly encrypted or unencrypted data in a car, which was taken by unknown parties last month. The missing information includes names, Social Security Numbers, and highly confidential medical information for about 4.9 million people insured by TRICARE. TRICARE has not yet contacted the people whose private information was disclosed.
The lawsuit filed seeks to reform TRICARE and the Department of Defense’s data protection policies so that members of the military and their families are never again victimized by such a privacy violation. The lawsuit also seeks monetary damages and a Court Order requiring TRICARE to provide credit monitoring services to victims of the disclosure and to take all necessary steps to protect victims of the disclosure.
If you are a member of TRICARE, please contact us to discuss your legal options.