$500K Asheville Arthritis Settlement Ends Class Action Lawsuit Over May 2024 Data Breach

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An Asheville Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center settlement offers cash to resolve a class action lawsuit over a May 2024 data breach that potentially compromised patients’ and employees’ private information.

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The Asheville Arthritis class action settlement received preliminary approval from the court on October 9, 2025 and covers all individuals who received from the North Carolina rheumatology practice a data breach notice advising that their information may have been exposed in the May 2024 data breach, which impacted around 58,000 people.

The court-approved website for the Asheville Arthritis settlement can be found at ArthritisDataBreach.com.

Per the settlement website, class members who submit a timely, valid claim form are eligible to receive reimbursement for up to $5,000 for documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred because of the data breach, or, in the alternative, a one-time cash payout estimated to be $100 per person.

Reimbursement for documented out-of-pocket expenses stemming from the Asheville Arthritis data breach is meant to cover unreimbursed costs related to identity theft or fraud, including attorneys’ and accountants’ fees, costs associated with freezing or unfreezing credit, credit monitoring costs, and miscellaneous expenses such as postage or mileage, the settlement website specifies. Class members who submit a claim for reimbursement must submit reasonable documentation for each expense.

The alternative $100 cash payment available through the class action settlement may increase or decrease on a pro rata (equal share) basis, depending on the amount left in the settlement fund after all valid claims for documented expenses are paid, settlement documents state.

To submit an Asheville Arthritis claim form online, settlement class members can go to this page and log in with the unique ID and PIN found on their copy of the settlement notice. Alternatively, class members can download a PDF of the claim form to print, complete and return by mail to the settlement administrator.

All Asheville Arthritis claim forms must be submitted online or postmarked by January 26, 2026.

The court will determine whether to grant final approval to the Asheville Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center settlement at a hearing on February 9, 2026. Compensation will begin to be distributed to class members only after final approval is granted and any appeals are resolved.

The Asheville Arthritis class action lawsuit alleged that on or about May 22, 2024, Asheville Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center’s network was accessed by an unauthorized third party. According to court documents, the information compromised in the data breach included names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, Social Security numbers and medical information such as notes, lab results and diagnoses or treatments. Additionally, some employee files were compromised, including bank account numbers, according to the suit.

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