David S. Almeida, Founder and Managing Partner of Almeida Law Group, LLC, was recently appointed by US District Court Judge David C. Joseph to serve on the Executive Committee in a consolidated class action lawsuit against Acadian Ambulance Services, Inc.
The class action lawsuit stems from a data security incident and ransomware attack exposing highly-sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII) , and Personal Health Information (PHI) including the Social Security numbers of patients, due to Acadian Ambulance’s failure to implement and follow basic security procedures. Acadian Ambulance is a privately-owned ambulance service that operates a fleet of more than 400 ground ambulances, eight medical transport helicopters, and five fixed-wing aircraft that serve the states of Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
As part of Acadian Ambulance’s business, it collects a tremendous amount of data from patients including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, health and health insurance information, and financial data from its 10 million users. Plaintiffs allege that, due to Acadian Ambulance’s negligence, they are now at a significantly increased risk of fraud, identity theft, misappropriation of health insurance benefits, intrusion of their health privacy, PII and PHI being disseminated on the Dark Web, and similar forms of criminal mischief — a risk that may last for the rest of their lives.
Key details from the court’s order include:
- Consolidation of Cases: Related cases have been merged under a single lead case, Hulse v. Acadian Ambulance Services, Inc., to streamline the legal process.
- Interim Class Action Executive Committee: David S. Almeida of Almeida Law Group was appointed to serve on the Executive Committee supporting interim co-leadership counsel. Almeida Law Group will be assisting in Defense Discovery on the case.
- Efficient Case Management: All future filings, motions, and responses will be centralized in the lead case, ensuring organized and efficient litigation with minimal duplication of efforts.
The case, captioned Hulse v. Acadian Ambulance Services, Inc., and assigned case number, 6:24-cv-01011, is currently pending in the Western District of Louisiana – Lafayette Division under Judge David C. Joseph.
