If you were a customer of LifeLabs on or before December 17, 2019 and live in Canada as of October 25, 2023 and you were affected by a 2019 data breach, you can now apply for compensation of up to $150 from a class action settlement that was approved in October.
LifeLabs and its subsidiaries were targeted in a cyberattack on December 17, 2019, which compromised patient data for approximately 15 million customers, most of whom live in British Columbia or Ontario. Hackers were able to access personal information such as health numbers, test results, and more. In response to claims of negligence made against LifeLabs, the company has denied wrongdoing and has agreed to pay a minimum of $4.9M in the settlement — and a maximum of $9.8M depending on how many claims are filed. You can file a claim online at https://lifelabssettlement.kpmg.ca/ where you will be asked to provide your full name and address, as well as your phone number and email address if you have one.
Class administrator KPMG says that claimants will receive between $50 and $150 in damages, which will be reduced by court-approved legal costs, disbursements, and taxes. The settlement website states that all claims must be submitted electronically by April 6, 2024, at the latest. Payments will begin after that date, once claims are certified, according to the settlement website. In 2019, a joint investigation between B.C.’s and Ontario’s privacy watchdogs found that LifeLabs had “failed to protect customers’ personal information” during the 2019 breach.
