Deadline to Submit LifeLabs Class-Action Claim Is April 6. Are You Eligible?

A sign displays a LifeLabs location in North Vancouver B.C., on Oct. 22, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canadian LifeLabs customers have only three days left to submit a claim under a $9.8 million class-action settlement related to a major data breach at the national laboratory company.

Canadians who used LifeLabs’ services on or before Dec. 17, 2019, are eligible to submit a claim. Claimants can expect to receive a payout up to $150 from the class-action settlement, but only if they file by April 6 at 8 p.m.

Settlement class members who file a valid claim before the deadline will be eligible to receive between $50 and $150 in compensation, LifeLabs said in a news release.

The $9.8-million settlement was approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in October 2023 for all Canadians impacted by the data breach. The amount each person receives will depend on the number of claims filed.

The lawsuit was launched after LifeLabs announced it had been the victim of a large-scale cyberattack on Dec. 17, 2019.

The personal information of approximately 8.6 million people was stolen in the breach, according to claims administrator KPMG. Hackers obtained customer names, health card numbers, addresses, emails, logins, and lab test results.

LifeLabs, which operates in Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, said it paid a ransom to the hackers for the data, but declined to disclose the amount. The company said the stolen data had not been “misused by anyone.”

The lawsuit accused LifeLabs of being “negligent” in protecting customer information. The company has denied the allegations.

A 2020 joint investigation by Ontario and B.C. privacy commissioners found LifeLabs failed to protect the personal health information of its customers.

The company did not implement “reasonable safeguards” to protect customer data in violation of Ontario’s health privacy law and B.C.’s personal information protection law, the commissioners said in a joint press release.

B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael McEvoy called the lack of data protection “unacceptable.”

“LifeLabs exposed British Columbians, along with millions of other Canadians, to potential identity theft, financial loss, and reputational harm,” he said.

The company was subsequently ordered to improve its information technology security, stop collecting certain pieces of information, and securely dispose of records.

How to Make a Claim

A claim form can be completed and submitted on the official class-action website or it can be emailed to KPMG, the claims administrator, at [email protected].

Those filing a claim must provide their name, address, telephone number, email and valid provincial health card number. They also must choose their preferred payment method: e-transfer or cheque.

Electronic payments will be expedited, LifeLabs said, adding that a $2 processing fee will be deducted from cheque payments.

All payments will have court-approved legal fees, disbursements and taxes deducted from the amount awarded.