$900K Gandara Mental Health Center Settlement Wraps Up Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit

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Gandara Mental Health Center has agreed to a $900,000 settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit that alleged the behavioral health facility failed to protect sensitive information from a data breach discovered by the company in June 2024.

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The $900,000 Gandara Mental Health Center class action settlement received preliminary approval from the court on March 9, 2026. The deal covers all Massachusetts residents whose private information was compromised in the June 2024 Gandara data breach.

Court documents state that approximately 17,543 people were sent notice that their information may have been affected in the incident.

The court-approved website for the Gandara data breach settlement can be found at GandaraSettlement.com.

According to the website, Gandara settlement class members who file a valid, timely claim form can receive up to $500 for “ordinary” losses incurred between June 20, 2024 and July 23, 2026 due to the data breach.

This benefit covers unreimbursed expenses such as bank fees, phone charges, data charges, travel, postage, and the purchase of credit monitoring, identity theft insurance or credit reports. Class members must submit proof, such as receipts, to receive this benefit.

In addition to an ordinary-loss payment, class members may also claim up to four hours of lost time spent responding to the breach, at a rate of $25 per hour. Lost-time payouts are included under the $500 ordinary-loss payment cap, the settlement website says.

In addition to an ordinary-loss and lost-time payment, class members can also file a claim form to receive up to $5,000 for “extraordinary” losses incurred between June 20, 2024 and July 23, 2026 due to the Gandara data breach.

This benefit covers unreimbursed losses linked to the misuse of a class member’s information, fraud, or identity theft. A class member must submit documentation to receive this benefit.

In lieu of any of the foregoing benefits, class members may instead file a claim form to receive a $60 cash payment, with no proof required.

The settlement agreement notes that all cash payments to class members are subject to a $900,000 aggregate cap. Payments to class members may decrease in value should the total value of valid claims exceed $900,000.

In addition to any monetary benefits, all class members who file a claim form are eligible to receive an enrollment code for three years of CyEx Medical Shield Complete, which includes one-bureau credit monitoring and identity theft protection insurance.

Finally, as part of the settlement, Gandara has agreed to implement and maintain “appropriate” cybersecurity measures in response to the data breach.

To file a Gandara Mental Health Center settlement claim form online, class members can head to this page and log in using the notice ID and confirmation code found on their copy of the settlement notice. Alternatively, class members can download a PDF of the claim form to print, fill out and return by mail to the settlement administrator.

All Gandara Mental Health Center settlement claim forms must be submitted online or by mail by July 23, 2026.

The court will determine whether to grant final approval to the Gandara Mental Health Center data breach settlement following a hearing on August 25, 2026. Compensation will begin to be distributed to class members only after final approval is granted and any appeals are resolved.

The Gandara Mental Health Center class action lawsuit claimed that the Massachusetts-based chain of nonprofit mental healthcare providers failed to safeguard sensitive information on its systems from unauthorized third parties, which led to a data breach discovered by the company on or around June 20, 2024.

Per court documents, private information that may have been affected in the breach included names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, protected health information, treatment history and health insurance information.

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