Montlick & Associates, a personal injury and consumer law firm, reported a data breach in August 2024 that allegedly exposed certain consumers’ private information. Incidents like this typically involve unauthorized access to internal systems or files containing identifiers such as names, contact details, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, or other sensitive data that can be used for identity theft. Because compromised data can circulate for months or years, affected individuals often face ongoing risks like fraudulent accounts, tax scams, or the cost and time of monitoring and repairing their credit. The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of people whose information was potentially accessed, arguing that the firm should have implemented reasonable safeguards and provided timely, adequate notice and remediation. The settlement website indicates payments ranging from $20 to up to $3,500, with a claim deadline of 3/11/26 and no proof required for filing—terms that are designed to make relief accessible while still offering higher compensation to those who can document significant out-of-pocket losses. Beyond this case, data-breach class actions have become common across healthcare, retail, and professional services, and they operate alongside a patchwork of state data-breach notification laws (and, in some states, broader privacy or data-security requirements) that push organizations to minimize data collection, strengthen security controls, and respond quickly when incidents occur.