Dothan- A federal judge is expected rule soon whether the negligence case against a Dothan hospital will move forward as a class action lawsuit.

Attorneys for five people who claim they were victimized by identity theft at Flowers Hospital have asked the judge to allow others to join the legal action. The motion was filed Monday.

A phlebotomist who worked in the hospital’s lab admitted stealing patient’s personal information and conspiring with others to file fraudulent income tax returns seeking ill-gotten refunds. Karmarian Millender was arrested in February, 2014 during what law enforcement say began as a routine traffic stop.

Legal documents show that Millender was in possession of 54 files stolen from the hospital. It’s not known the total he took while employed for nearly a year. Evidence shows he would return files after stealing vital data.

Millender later pleaded guilty on federal and state charges and is serving a two-year prison sentence.

The lawsuit also claims files were routinely and negligently kept in an unsecured hallway of the hospital. “These daily file folders would each generally contain approximately 100 to 150 patient records.”

When the hospital discovered the breach letters were sent to patients telling them their identity may have been compromised. The recipients included patients of the hospital and those who visited their personal doctor’s offices that contracted with Flowers Hospital for lab analysis.

If the judge rules against the plaintiffs request for class action it would then be up to each person who believe they were victimized to file individual lawsuits.