Nevada to get $51K as part of data breach settlement

CARSON CITY — Nevada will receive about $51,000 as part of a multistate settlement over a health company’s 2014 data breach that exposed more than 31,000 Nevadans’ personal information.

Tennessee-based Community Health Systems Inc. agreed to pay $5 million to the 28 states included on the lawsuit for the data breach, which affected roughly $6.1 million patients nationwide. At the time of the breach, the company operated Mesa View Regional Hospital in Mesquite. Nevada’s share of the settlement is $51,096.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office said that some Nevadans visited clinics in other states that were operated by Community Health System that were also affected by the breach.

“My office will continue to hold companies accountable for the manner in which they collect and secure sensitive personal information of Nevada consumers,” Ford said. “Settlements like this one promote improved security procedures in order to safeguard that information. Even companies that have not been breached should review recent settlements in this arena and evaluate whether their policies and procedures for network security should be enhanced.”

The other 27 states included in the settlement are Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.