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Datavant LLC, the corporate successor to IOD Incorporated, has agreed to a $9.27 million class action settlement to resolve allegations that IOD overcharged patients, law firms, and insurers for medical record retrieval in Pennsylvania.
If you paid for copies of medical records from a Pennsylvania healthcare provider between July 15, 2005, and September 3, 2012, you may be entitled to cash back from a $9.27 million class action settlement.
Datavant LLC, the corporate successor to medical record vendor IOD Incorporated, has agreed to settle a long-running lawsuit alleging that IOD systematically overcharged patients, law firms, and insurance providers for retrieving and copying medical charts. The settlement opens a claim window that allows eligible individuals and entities to claim a 35% refund on basic, search, retrieval, and reproduction fees paid during the seven-year period.
The lawsuit, filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, claims that IOD violated Pennsylvania law by routinely charging maximum statutory limits rather than the actual, reasonable expenses incurred to fulfill medical record requests. If you received a mailed notice containing a Notice ID and PIN, you may be eligible to submit a claim before the upcoming deadline.
The lawsuit traces back to July 2009, when plaintiffs brought legal action against IOD Incorporated, alleging that the company engaged in unfair billing practices when fulfilling medical record requests for healthcare facilities across Pennsylvania.
Under the 1998 version of the Pennsylvania Medical Records Act, vendors like IOD were legally required to charge fees based on the estimated actual and reasonable costs associated with finding, retrieving, and copying patient records. The lawsuit alleged that IOD breached an implied contract with consumers and organizations by automatically assessing maximum allowable fees under state limits rather than calculating its true administrative costs.
Although Pennsylvania lawmakers later amended the statute in July 2012 to allow companies to charge maximum baseline fees going forward, records requested and billed prior to September 3, 2012, remained subject to the earlier reasonable-cost rule. Following seventeen years of litigation, court appeals, and formal mediation, Datavant—which subsequently acquired and assumed liability for IOD Incorporated—agreed to set aside up to $9,268,095 to resolve the allegations without admitting any wrongdoing.
The settlement establishes a payout structure where eligible class members can receive a cash refund equal to 35% of the qualifying fees they paid to IOD or Datavant between July 15, 2005, and September 3, 2012.
Because the settlement covers varying record request sizes, there is no fixed or flat payout amount per person. Your exact payment depends entirely on the total amount you or your representative spent on basic fees, search and retrieval fees, and per-page copying charges during the eligible class period.
35% Fee Refund: You can claim 35% of all documented fees paid for qualifying record requests.
Calculated Totals: For class members who received a direct notice, the settlement administrator has pre-calculated the eligible refund amount based on IOD’s internal invoice history.
Pro Rata Adjustments: The settlement caps total class payments at $9,268,095. If valid claims exceed this total, individual payouts may be reduced proportionally.
Because this is a claims-made settlement structure, any portion of the dedicated fund that remains unclaimed after the final deadline will revert to Datavant. This makes filing a timely claim essential for recovering the money you are owed.
If your claim is approved following final court approval, you will have multiple options for receiving your settlement money. The settlement administrator offers flexible digital and paper payment methods so you can select the choice that works best for you.
When submitting your claim online, you can choose from several direct electronic payout options or request a physical check.
Zelle direct transfer
ACH Direct Deposit directly into your bank account
PayPal or Venmo electronic transfer
Digital Mastercard sent via email
Paper Check mailed directly to your preferred address (valid for 90 days from issuance)
Payments will be distributed within 30 days after the court issues final approval and all potential legal appeals are fully resolved.
You may be eligible to participate in the settlement if you requested and paid for copies of Pennsylvania medical records from IOD Incorporated or its subsidiaries between July 15, 2005, and September 3, 2012, and received a official settlement notice by mail.
The settlement class broadly covers consumers, businesses, and legal representatives who were charged maximum baseline rates for medical record retrieval in Pennsylvania during the qualifying timeframe.
Patients: Individuals who requested and paid for their own personal medical records.
Patient Representatives: Family members, legal guardians, or designees who paid for medical records on behalf of a patient.
Law Firms & Attorneys: Prosecuting, defense, or personal injury attorneys who ordered and paid for client medical records or issued subpoenas for records.
Insurance Companies: Insurers and claims administrators who paid IOD for patient record fulfillment.
Subpoena Issuers: Any individual or entity that served a legal subpoena for medical records and paid the associated basic and search fees.
If you believe you paid eligible fees but did not receive a notice with a Notice ID and PIN in the mail, you can contact the settlement administrator directly by phone at 800-641-9110 or by email at info@iodsettlementpa.com to verify your eligibility.
Medical record vendor litigation often hinges on consumer protection standards and implied contract laws designed to protect everyday consumers from inflated administrative costs. Healthcare vendors hold significant power when managing medical charts, as patients and their legal teams rely on timely access to health histories for insurance claims, litigation, and ongoing care.
When state statutes establish guidelines requiring fees to reflect “actual and reasonable expenses,” vendors are legally bound to bill according to those true costs rather than routinely applying maximum fee caps. Class action lawsuits serve as an important tool to hold corporations accountable when they deviate from statutory fee structures, ensuring that everyday people and small practices are reimbursed for systematic overcharges.
In this case, the lawsuit reached a mediated resolution signed in June 2026, leading to preliminary approval by Judge Alan D. Hertzberg in Allegheny County Court. A final fairness hearing is scheduled for October 16, 2026, where the court will review the terms and determine whether to give the agreement final approval.
Filing a claim is quick and can be completed online or through the mail. To submit a claim, you must obtain the Notice ID and PIN located on the formal class notice mailed to your address.
To complete your claim, visit the official settlement website at iodsettlementpa.com and follow the online prompts.
Locate Your Notice ID and PIN: Find the personalized credentials printed on the paper notice you received in the mail, or scan the QR code printed on the document.
Access Your Account: Enter your details on the official settlement portal to review the record request transaction list pre-populated by the settlement administrator.
Select Your Payment Method: Choose your preferred payout option, such as direct bank deposit, Zelle, PayPal, or a mailed paper check.
Submit Your Proof of Claim: Review the pre-calculated amounts, verify your contact information, and submit your form. Patients and original payers are not required to upload additional invoices or receipts beyond the notice credentials.
The hard deadline to submit your claim is November 30, 2026. Your online submission or paper claim form must be received by the settlement administrator by this date—postmarks will not satisfy the deadline.
When large medical vendors overcharge for access to mandatory personal records, everyday consumers and small organizations bear the financial burden. Participating in class action settlements ensures that companies are held accountable for past billing practices while putting money back where it belongs—in your pocket.
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