Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. notified its electronic medical record customers last week that a ransomware attack was behind the disruption of service for medical providers.

Allscripts became the victim of the ransomware “SamSam” on January 18 which shut down providers’ access to their electronic medical records. Allscripts was able to restore some access, but a Palm Beach orthopedic group filed a class action suit against Allscripts on January 25 alleging that the disruption was a life or death consequence that Allscripts should have foreseen and that it should have protected its systems from compromise.

The Complaint alleges that the physicians were unable to electronically prescribe medications to patients and that they had to cancel appointments, which caused “significant business interruptions and disruption and lost revenues.”