Can You Get Compensation For A Data Breach?

This guide will explore the question ‘can you get compensation for a data breach?’. You may be asking this question after discovering your personal data was involved in a breach through receiving a letter of notification from an organisation. Alternatively, you may suspect your personal data has been affected by a breach. If so, this guide could help you understand when you could be eligible to make a data breach claim, and the potential compensation that could be awarded if you succeed in doing so.

can you get compensation for a data breach

Can You Get Compensation For A Data Breach?

Data controllers, those who set the purpose for processing personal data, and data processors, those who act on behalf of the controller, have a responsibility to adhere to data protection laws. Namely, the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) seek to protect your personal data. We explore how a failure to adhere to these laws could see your personal data compromised in a breach, and the impact this could have on you financially or psychologically.

To conclude, we explain the benefits of starting a compensation claim for a data breach with help from a skilled solicitor in this field.

At Data Breach Claims, our advisors can provide an assessment of your case. If you have a valid claim, they could put you in touch with a solicitor from our panel offering a No Win No Fee agreement. Find out more via the contact details below:

Select A Section

  1. Can You Get Compensation For A Data Breach?
  2. How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Data Breach?
  3. Personal Data Breach Examples
  4. Work With A Data Breach Solicitor On A No Win No Fee Basis
  5. Learn More About What To Do If A Data Breach Happens

Can You Get Compensation For A Data Breach?

In order to get compensation for a data breach you need to meet certain criteria.

  • Controllers and processors both have an obligation to adhere to the UK GDPR and the DPA 2018. You must be able to demonstrate that they failed to follow these data protection laws when processing your personal data, which is information that can be used to identify you, such as your name, email address or telephone number.
  • It must also be shown that as a result of the controller or processor breaching data protection legislation, your personal data was compromised in a breach. A personal data breach can be defined as a security incident that affects the availability, confidentiality, or integrity of your personal data.
  • You must have suffered financial loss, emotional harm, or both as a result of the personal data breach.

If you would like to establish that you meet the criteria for a data breach claim, speak to our team of advisors by calling on the number above.

How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Data Breach?

An eligible data breach claim that succeeds can see compensation for two types of damage awarded. The first is called non-material damage which refers to the psychological harm caused by the personal data breach. This can include distress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder caused because of the data breach.

Legal professionals can turn to a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for help in evaluating mental harm. It contains a list of guideline award brackets that correspond to different types of psychiatric injuries. We have included an excerpt below, but you should only use this as a guide because settlements will vary.

Award Bracket Guidelines

Type of HarmSeverity and Award Bracket GuidelinesNotes
Psychological HarmSevere - £54,830 to £115,730A very poor prognosis and marked issues affecting different areas of the person's life.
Moderately Severe - £19,070 to £54,830A better prognosis but there are still significant problems affecting different areas of the person's life.
Moderate - £5,860 to £19,070There is a significant improvement and the person has a good prognosis,
Less Severe - £1,540 to £5,860


The award given will account for how long the person was affected and to what extent.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Severe - £59,860 to £100,670Permanent issues affecting all aspects of the person's life and preventing them returning to a pre-trauma level.
Moderately Severe - £23,150 to £59,860


A better prognosis and some recovery likely with professional help but significant issues are still likely to occur for the foreseeable future.
Moderate - £8,180 to £23,150The person makes a recovery of a significant nature and any ongoing issues they experience won't be hugely disabling.
Less Severe - £3,950 to £8,180


A virtually complete recovery within 2 years and minor symptoms only persisting beyond this.

Claiming For Material Damage In A Data Breach Claim

Compensation could also be awarded to address material damage which refers to the monetary losses caused by the personal data breach.

For example, you may have missed work because of the stress caused by the breach resulting in you losing income. Alternatively, you may have experienced fraudulent purchases on your debit and credit card due to a data breach.

Evidence in the form of bank statements and wage slips could help prove any monetary expenses incurred.

For more information on when you could get compensation for a data breach and how much you could receive, call an advisor on the number above.

Personal Data Breach Examples

A personal data breach could occur in several ways, such as as a result of human error or a cyber security incident. For example:

  • A letter containing your personal data is sent to the wrong address despite the organisation having the correct details for you.
  • Information relating to your finances contained within paperwork is lost or stolen due to inadequate physical security measures.
  • There is a failure to use the blind carbon copy (BCC) feature when sending out a mass email, resulting in others seeing your email address.
  • A device is lost or stolen after an employee left it on public transport.
  • The cyber security systems of an organisation are weak or insufficient, meaning that an external hack happens more easily and personal data is stolen in a ransomware attack.

To discuss your specific case and get an answer to the question ‘Can you get compensation for a data breach?’ call our team on the number above.

Work With A Data Breach Solicitor On A No Win No Fee Basis

If our advisors find that you have an eligible claim for data breach compensation, they could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. Our panel offer a version of this contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under the terms of this, you can typically benefit from:

  • No upfront or ongoing fees for the work completed by your solicitor.
  • Nothing to pay for the services your solicitor provides if the claim fails.

If you have a case that completes successfully, your solicitor will take a percentage of your compensation. They take this as their success fee. However, the percentage has a legal cap and you will be able to discuss the fee with your solicitor prior to them beginning any work on your case.

For more information on whether you can get compensation for a data breach, and how a data breach solicitor from our panel could help, contact an advisor. To do so, you can:

Learn More About What To Do If A Data Breach Happens

For more of our helpful guides:

For more external resources:

We hope this guide has answered the question ‘Can you get compensation for a data breach?’. If you require any other further information, please contact an advisor on the number above.

Writer Jeff Walker

Editor Meg Monsoon