This was predictable, yes? After Pfizer earlier this month alerted some 17,000 current and former employees that their names and Social Security numbers, along with other private data had been breached, there was speculation that a lawsuit - or a few thousand - might be filed.

Last week, a former Pfizer employee filed what may be the first lawsuit in federal court in Louisiana, citing negligence and invasion of privacy. Moreover, he’s seeking class action status for the other 16,999 or so Pfizer folks who may be similarly upset. For its part, Pfizer sent letters to everyone affected, offered a year’s worth of free credit monitoring and contacted state attorneys general. One of them, Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal, is investigating.

“All companies that have a data breach probably have some degree of liability,” Larry Poneman, a high-tech privacy expert, told Pharmalot after we reported the Pfizer breach. “The question is whether there’s the potential for harm as a result of the release. It can be difficult to prove harm. But it does merit some investigation.”

This is the lawsuit.