This guide looks at when you could be eligible to claim compensation for a breach of a child’s data by social services. We will examine the legislation regarding data protection and how failures by social services to uphold these standards can result in data breaches.
Can You Claim For A Breach Of A Child’s Data By Social Services?
We have provided some illustrative examples of how such a data breach could occur and the harm this could cause. Also contained within this guide is the possible compensation that could be awarded for this harm in the event of a successful claim.
Later in this guide, we provide a brief overview of the type of No Win No Fee agreement our panel of data breach solicitors can offer and the benefits of starting a claim under this type of contract.
Our team of dedicated advisors can provide further details on any of the information contained in this guide. They can also offer a cost-free assessment of your potential data breach claim. You can reach an advisor via:
- Phone on 020 8050 3051.
- The live chat function on this website.
- Our online “Contact Us” form.
Jump To A Section
- Can You Claim For A Breach Of A Child’s Data By Social Services?
- How Could A Breach Of A Child’s Data By Social Services Occur?
- Data Breach Compensation Calculator
- What Evidence Could Help In Data Breach Claims?
- Use No Win No Fee Data Protection Breach Solicitors To Claim Compensation
- Learn More About Claiming For A Social Services Breach Of Data Protection
Can You Claim For A Breach Of A Child’s Data By Social Services?
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the body established to govern the protection of data in the UK. The ICO define a personal data breach as a security incident that has affected the integrity, availability or confidentiality of personal data. This definition encompasses both human error and cyber security incidents.
When discussing a breach of a child’s data by social services, 3 different parties need to be considered:
- A data subject is a living identifiable individual to whom the personal data is related.
- A data controller decides how and why personal data will be held, stored and processed.
- A data processor is an external party that is contracted to process personal data on behalf of the data controller. It is important to note that not every data controller will make use of external processors and may choose to process data internally.
Both data processors and controllers are required to abide by the standards of data protection established by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Failing to meet these standards could result in security incidents that impact personal data.
To begin a personal data breach claim, the following eligibility criteria must be satisfied:
- There was a failure to uphold the standards set out under data protection law by either the data processor or controller.
- A data breach that affected your personal data occurred because of this failure.
- Due to this data breach, you experienced a financial loss, psychiatric injury or both.
For more information on claiming for a breach of child’s personal data, please call an advisor on the number above.
How Could A Breach Of A Child’s Data By Social Services Occur?
Personal data is information that can be used, either directly or indirectly, to identify an individual. Examples include names, addresses, contact information such as email addresses and phone numbers and financial information such as bank card details. Special category data is data that is sensitive in nature and therefore requires a higher level of security. This can include data concerning race and ethnicity, religious affiliation, data regarding health and political views.
Social services provide a wide range of services to both vulnerable children and adults. This can include re-homing families and children who are at risk of violence in their own homes. With this in mind, a social services data breach can be very serious and result in family members or ex-partners that a child was moved away from coming back into their lives.
We have included some potential examples of how social services could breach a child’s data below:
- An administrative error meant a child’s information was sent to their previous address where their abusive parent still lived.
- Inadequate physical security procedures resulted in documents containing a child’s personal data not being locked away. The documents were subsequently lost, resulting in unauthorised persons gaining access.
For advice on how to deal with a breach of a child’s data by social services, speak to our team using the contact details given above.
Data Breach Compensation Calculator
Following a successful claim for a breach of a child’s data by social services, compensation can be awarded for up to two different types of damage:
- Material damage refers to any financial losses that occur as a result of a personal data breach. For example, if time has been taken off work to look after a child following a breach, this could have resulted in lost income.
- Non-material damage refers to the psychological impact of having your personal data breached. This can include anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, or an aggravation of existing mental health conditions.
Data subjects can claim for the psychological impacts of a data breach independently of financial losses following the Court of Appeal for the Vidal-Hall and Others vs Google case. The ruling in Gulati & Others vs MGN means solicitors can value the psychological impacts of a data breach as they would in a personal injury claim, using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The JCG lists the guideline award brackets for various types of mental harm. We have used these brackets to create this compensation table for non-material damage.
Compensation Table
It is important that we emphasise that data breach claims are valued on an individual basis, and therefore this information has been provided to offer guidance, not to state a guaranteed compensation amount.
| Type of Harm | Severity | Guideline Bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Psychiatric Harm | Severe (a) | £54,830 to £115,730 | Cases involving a very poor prognosis and marked problems relating to all aspects of the injured person's life. |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £19,070 to £54,830 | A more optimistic prognosis, but significant problems relating to social life, work and personal relationships will be present. | |
| Moderate (c) | £5,860 to £19,070 | While problems relating to work and social life will be present, there will have been marked improvement and the prognosis will be good. | |
| Less Severe (d) | £1,540 to £5,860 | The level of award in this bracket will consider the length of the period of disability, and any impact on daily activities. | |
| PTSD | Severe (a) | £59,860 to £100,670 | Permanent severely disabling effects on all aspects of injured person's life. |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £23,150 to £59,860 | Despite a better prognosis than in the bracket above due to professional help being received, there will be significant disability for the foreseeable future. | |
| Moderate (c) | £8,180 to £23,150 | This bracket involves cases where an injured person will have largely recovered and not be experiencing any gross disablement. | |
| Less Severe (d) | £3,950 to £8,180 | A virtual recovery within two years and any persisting symptoms will be minor. |
Get in touch with our team of advisors for more details on how much compensation for a data breach you could get following a successful claim.
What Evidence Could Help In Data Breach Claims?
In order to make a data breach claim, evidence demonstrating that harm was experienced from the data breach will need to be submitted. Some possible examples are detailed here:
- Communication from the social services highlighting that a data breach affecting a child’s personal data has taken place.
- Any medical records highlighting any psychiatric harm caused by the data breach.
- Financial records to show any monetary expenses incurred due to the breach of child’s data.
The data controller should inform all data subjects affected by a data breach that puts their rights and freedoms at risk without delay. A data controller must also notify the ICO that a breach that meets the criteria for reporting has occurred within 72 hours. The ICO can then conduct an investigation into the breach and take action against the controller if necessary. The findings of this investigation can be useful supporting evidence in your data breach claim.
You have the right to voice concerns over how social services are handling a child’s data at any time. Upon receiving an unsatisfactory response to your concerns, you can make a report to the ICO yourself. It is not required that you first complain to the ICO before starting a data breach claim.
Our dedicated team can offer more advice on the evidence you can collect. After your potential claim has been assessed, you could work with a specialist data breach solicitor from our panel to compile a body of supporting evidence. Speak to a team member using the contact information provided below for more information.
Use No Win No Fee Data Protection Breach Solicitors To Claim Compensation
Our advisors can provide more guidance on how to proceed following a breach of a child’s data by social services and assess your potential claim without charge. You could be connected with a data breach specialist from our panel of solicitors if it’s decided you have a valid claim. Our panel can offer a type No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA)
In most cases, you will not have to pay any fees upfront for the solicitor to begin working on your claim under a CFA. There will likewise be no ongoing fees during the claims process. You will also not have to pay any fees for their work after a failed claim.
A compensation award will be paid out on the success of your data breach claim. The solicitor will deduct a percentage of this compensation as their success fee. By law, the percentage that can be charged as a success fee is subject to a binding cap. Therefore, the majority of any awarded compensation is yours to keep.
Our team of dedicated advisors can provide further details on any of the information contained in this guide. They can also offer a cost-free assessment of your potential data breach claim. You can reach an advisor via:
- Phone on 020 8050 3051
- The live chat function on this website.
- Our online “Contact Us” form.
Learn More About Claiming For A Social Services Breach Of Data Protection
See more of our data breach guides here:
- Read about starting a claim for the accidental destruction of personal data.
- See our guide on how to report a data breach.
Other resources you may find useful:
- The NHS offer guidance on dealing with panic disorder which you may find helpful.
- The government have created this resource to explain how you can find out what data an organisation has about you.
- The ICO routinely release updates on the action they’ve taken regarding data breaches.
Thank you for reading our guide on how to claim after a breach of a child’s data by social services. To ask any questions or get a free assessment of your specific circumstances, contact our advisors. Get in touch using the contact information provided above.
Writer Harry Charles
Editor Meg Monsoon
