BY FRANK DANIELS IV
Insider Staff Writer
Pinehurst Radiology Associates has agreed to a settlement in a class action lawsuit, pending a final approval by the courts.
The suit was brought by Trina McNeill, who was later joined by Ruby Wall, to seek compensatory damages for a breach of Pinehurst Radiology’s records. The Pilot reported in February 2025 that the practice had closed “for the foreseeable future,” later obtaining documents that showed the company officially ceased operations on June 1 after experiencing a computer hacking incident that occurred in January. According to the complaint, the breach exposed names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, medical diagnoses and treatment information.
McNeill filed her complaint within a week of the practice closure. Superior Court Judge Michael Stone granted preliminary approval of the settlement in December. The complaint alleges that Pinehurst Radiology should have taken steps to protect personally identifiable and health information, and failing to do so violated FTC and HIPAA guidelines; and that failing to notify affected parties in a timely manner further exposed individuals to risk of identity theft and fraud. The group notified potential victims via letters dated May 22, 2025, included as an exhibit in the complaint.
The settlement applies to the roughly 8,600 individuals potentially affected by the breach.
Terms are only available if the courts grant the settlement and a class member submits a valid claim of “documented losses” that occur between Jan. 20, 2025 and April 9, 2026.
According to the action’s court-approved website, PinehurstRadiologySettlement.com, a judge is scheduled to rule on final approval of the settlement at a hearing on April 6. To join in the action, eligible claimants must file electronically or postmark a claim form, available from the settlement website, by April 9.
The site also lists March 7 as the deadline for individuals to opt out of or object to the settlement. Opting out negates eligibility for monetary compensation and allows an individual to sue, continue suit or join in another lawsuit. If objecting, a class member may still file a claim for settlement benefits.
A member may also choose to do nothing, which will prevent further suit and receiving benefits from the settlement.
Individuals can claim monetary damages of $500 and medical monitoring services.
Class members are not eligible for monetary settlement if they have been reimbursed through another method. According to the settlement, the monitoring comes through one year of CyEx’s Medical Shield Complete services, which tracks things like credit, health care insurance plan IDs, health care beneficiary identifier ID, medical records, national provider identifier and the Dark Web, and provides for $1,000,000 of identity theft insurance.
Contact Frank Daniels IV at (910) 693-2486 or frank@thepilot.com.
