Court Stiffs Veterans Caught in Privacy Breach

June 19, 2009 at 12:02 am PT

Veterans suffering anxiety and paranoia following the theft of a government hard drive containing the medical histories and Social Security numbers of 198,000 of their brethren cannot recover financial damages, a federal appeals court says.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in largely dismissing a class-action, ruled Wednesday that the veterans could recoup at least $1,000 under the Privacy Act if they could show financial damages, not mental anguish.

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Tagged with: 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, anxiety, breach, class action, court, David Kravets, digital, federal appeals, Internet, medical histories, mental anguish, paranoia, privacy, Privacy Act, social security, Threat Level, veterans, Wired

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