The Medibank data breach class-action suit is now being run by three united law firms. Source: Shutterstock.
Three law firms have united to run legal action against private health insurer Medibank regarding the October data breach that affected 9.7 million current and former customers.
Bannister Law Class Actions, Centennial Lawyers and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers are merging their class-action suits regarding the Medibank data breach. They aim to secure compensation for the millions of affected customers.
The data breach saw the details of millions of customers released onto the dark web. A Russian ransomware group appears to be behind the cyber-crime.
In November, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers lodged a formal complaint against Medibank with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)—a government body with the power to order compensation.
In a similar case in January 2021, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection mistakenly released the personal details of 9,251 asylum seekers detained in immigration detention. The OAIC ruled that “compensation for non-economic loss may range from $500 to more than $20,000 for extreme loss or damage resulting from the data breach”.
The three firms have agreed to continue the OAIC complaint together and have already registered tens of thousands of customers affected by the Medibank data breach.
Maurice Blackburn’s head of class actions, Andrew Watson, said that the co-operation agreement between the firms was a significant development.
“This data breach has caused millions of Australians significant distress. The co-operation agreement ensures that all three law firms are working together for the common aim of obtaining compensation for those affected as quickly as possible.”
Bannister Law Class Actions principal, Charles Bannister, hopes that the co-operation of the three law firms will lead to faster compensation payments for the affected customers.
He says, “We believe the data breach is a betrayal of Medibank Private’s customers and a breach of the Privacy Act. Medibank has a duty to keep this kind of information confidential.”
