MARIETTA, Ga. — Marietta-based Wellstar Medical Group has reached a settlement with the plaintiffs of a class action lawsuit over data privacy.
Court records show Wellstar agreed to pay $4.25 million to the plaintiffs and members of the class, according to a preliminary approval of the settlement.
As proposed, the healthcare company will pay the settlement amount while admitting no liability or wrongdoing.
According to court records, the lawsuit was first filed against Wellstar in federal court after some individuals’ data was disclosed to a third party between February 2020 and July 2026 through Wellstar’s Tracking Technology on its web properties.
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The pending settlement agreement said there are roughly 870,000 people that meet the definition of the settlement class.
The settlement proposal says that Wellstar agreed to pay $4.25 million to a settlement fund, starting with a $250,000 deposit within 30 days of preliminary approval by a judge, which happened Tuesday.
It means the company will have to put $250,000 into an account for the settlement process by Aug. 27.
The next step requires final approval from a judge.
After 35 days of the settlement receiving final approval order, Wellstar would have to deposit the remaining $4 million so the class members can receive their portions of the settlement.
In a statement shared with Channel 2 Action News, Wellstar said it had “reached a proposed settlement in this matter, subject to court approval. The proposed settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing, and the court did not find any wrongdoing on the part of Wellstar. Given the uncertainty and cost of litigation, we believe resolving this matter is in the best interests of the parties. We remain committed to safeguarding the privacy of our patients and maintaining the trust they place in us every day.”
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