Having your personal information disclosed without permission can be deeply upsetting. It’s natural to feel unsettled or concerned about how this breach could affect you, your health and finances. Everyone has the right to expect that their personal data will be handled securely and within the laws of data protection. It’s more than just a breach of data; it is a breach of trust. When that trust is broken, pursuing a disclosing personal information compensation claim is not only about recovering what you’ve lost, it’s about holding those responsible to account.
A personal data breach can shake the very foundation of your life, so it’s vital that you have a legal team at your disposal who understands your situation. At Data Breach Claims, we understand how distressing this experience can be. Our role is to provide you with as much information as we can about the data breach claim process, assess your case for free, and connect you with a specialist solicitor from our expert panel. All the solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis to make the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible.
If you are interested in working with our panel of solicitors who provide personalised case strategies, are committed to client care and have advanced expertise in data breach claims, please get in touch using the contact details below:
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- Phone us on 020 8050 6279
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We Can Help With Your Claim
Our team of specialist advisors are ready to assist you with your data breach claim
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Is A Personal Information Disclosure?
- Can I Make A Disclosing Personal Information Compensation Claim?
- How Might Your Personal Data Be Disclosed In A Breach?
- What Do I Need To Prove Someone Has Disclosed My Information?
- How Much Compensation Could You Get For A Disclosure Of Personal Data?
- How Long Will A Data Breach Claim Take To Settle?
- Claim For A Personal Information Disclosure With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- More Information
Can I Make A Disclosing Personal Information Compensation Claim?
Yes, you may be able to make a disclosing personal information compensation claim if your personal data was compromised due to a failure to comply with data protection law, and you suffered harm as a result.
To clarify, personal data is any information that could identify you directly, or in accordance with other information. The important thing to understand is that any organisation handling your personal data must comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Moreover, these laws impose duties and responsibilities on data controllers and data processors to keep your personal information safe through a combination of technical, organisational, and contractual measures. They must safeguard your personal information throughout every phase, ranging from collection to deletion.
In simple terms, a data controller will decide how your personal information is processed, and data processors follow the instructions outlined by said controller. Let us give you a clearer picture of these roles before we continue: an example of a data controller might be a university that processes student and staff data, and a data processor could be a payroll company processing employee data. If a controller or a processor fails to comply with the data protection laws, it may result in a personal data breach.
More specifically, a personal data breach is any security incident that affects the confidentiality, integrity or availability of personal data as outlined under Article 4 of the UK GDPR. Another important thing to note is that Article 82 of the UK GDPR states that the following eligibility requirements must be satisfied in order for a valid personal data breach claim to be made:
- A data controller or processor failed to adhere to data protection laws
- This failure caused a personal data breach to take place
- Consequently, you suffered financial or psychological harm
Personal data breach can be a complex area of law, so we suggest speaking to our advisors to ensure clarity on the subject.
How Might Your Personal Data Be Disclosed In A Breach?
Your personal data can be disclosed in a breach through unauthorised access, theft of devices and human error. These data breaches can compromise your personal phone number or employment records, as well as more sensitive information such as your trade union membership or racial or ethnic origin. The latter is referred to as special category data, which requires additional protections under the UK GDPR.
Please find below the types of incidents that could lead you to claim:
Failure To Provide HR Training
- An employee in your HR department is not trained on the importance of data security. They openly talk about your disciplinary record to another colleague.
Email Sent To The Wrong Address
- An HR staff member accidentally sends an internal email containing sensitive information regarding an employee’s criminal record to the wrong address. The word spreads, and the employee is ostracised and bullied in the workplace.
Unauthorised Access
- A fellow employee is given unauthorised access to a shared file containing personal data regarding a young employee’s unexpected pregnancy. The member of staff who was given access to the file did not have clearance to access such information.
Failure To Redact Sensitive Data
- A school administrator used black rectangles to block out sensitive text on a PDF, unaware that the underlying information remained visible. This mistake exposed confidential details about a child’s experience of sexual abuse within the home.
If one of the above personal data breaches has happened to you, speak to us today, as you may have valid grounds to claim compensation.
What Do I Need To Prove Someone Has Disclosed My Information?
To prove someone has disclosed your personal information unlawfully, you will need to gather supporting evidence, such as your data breach notification letter or any other correspondence between you and the data controller informing you that a personal data breach has occurred.
Other pieces of evidence that you can present as part of your claim are:
- Medical records
- A letter from your psychiatrist acknowledging any psychological distress
- Proof of any financial harm using payslips, invoices and bank statements
- Anything found from an Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) investigation
An experienced solicitor could build a strong wall of evidence using the above documents. Call our advisors today to discuss how our panel of solicitors can help you.
How Much Compensation Could You Get For A Disclosure Of Personal Data?
How much compensation you could get for a disclosure of personal data would depend on the non-material damage you have suffered, the severity of it and whether you have incurred any financial losses.
Non-material damage refers to any psychological harm you have suffered as a result of your personal data breach.
When it comes to calculating your non-material damage, solicitors can utilise the guidance of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The reason for this is that the JCG is a complete list of instances of both physical and psychological harm, their severities and suggested compensation brackets.
Below you will find a table containing carefully sourced compensation brackets for psychological harm from the JCG. Please bear in mind that the content in the first row has not been selected from the JCG. Moreover, we kindly ask that you only use our table as a guide.
| TYPE OF HARM | COMPENSATION GUIDELINE | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Mental Harm With Financial Losses | Up to £250,000+ | Severe mental harm with financial losses such as loss of earnings, travel expenses and private therapy sessions. |
| Psychiatric Damage Generally - Severe (a) | £66,920 to £141,240 | Several influential factors will be considered in this bracket including things like the individual's ability to cope with life, work, education as well as any impact on relationships. |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £23,270 to £66,920 | The injured person will have significant problems with their ability to cope with their life and their vulnerability in the future. |
| Moderate (c) | £7,150 to £23,270 | This award covers cases where there will have been marked improvement by trial. |
| Less Severe (d) | £1,880 to £7,150 | This level of award will take into consideration the length of the period of disability as well as the extent to which daily activities were affected. |
| Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Severe (a) | £73,050 to £122,850 | All areas of the person's life will be severely affected and will involve permanent effects, such as stopping them from working. |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £28,250 to £73,050 | Here, the prognosis will be better which will be for some recovery with professional help. |
| Moderate (c) | £9,980 to £28,250 | This compensation bracket will cover an injured person who has largely recovered, and the presence of any continuing effects will not be grossly disabling. |
| Less Severe (d) | £4,820 to £9,980 | The claimant will have made a virtually full recovery within one to two years. |
We Can Help With Your Claim
Our team of specialist advisors are ready to assist you with your data breach claim
Can Any Resulting Material Damage Be Compensated?
Yes, any resulting material damage can be compensated for as part of your personal data breach claim. Specifically, material damage refers to any financial losses you have incurred because of the personal data breach.
We’ve provided you with some examples of what material damage can look like:
- The cost of therapy
- The expenses of installing home security
- The costs of relocation
- Loss of earnings
If you’d like to know how much compensation you might receive for material damage, please speak to one of our expert advisors.
How Long Will A Data Breach Claim Take To Settle?
How long a personal data breach claim takes to settle depends on various factors, including the complexity of the case and whether the data controller admits responsibility straightaway.
Some other factors that can influence the time it takes for a personal data breach claim to settle are:
- Delays in securing medical evidence regarding your mental health diagnosis
- If the claim can’t be settled without a judge’s intervention and ends up in court
- Waiting on results from an ICO investigation (if it’s part of your evidence)
If you are worried about other factors that may delay your personal data breach compensation claim, please speak to us today so we can help.
Claim For A Personal Information Disclosure With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
You can claim for a personal information disclosure with a No Win No Fee solicitor from Data Breach Claims’ panel of experts. When you’re facing the life-changing effects of a personal data breach, you should have access to professional legal help regardless of your financial circumstances. That’s why our panel offers their legal services on No Win No Fee terms. This is because they believe legal backing should be accessible to all who need it.
The No Win No Fee contract, which our panel provide, is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA, you won’t have to pay any solicitors’ fees if your claim fails, whilst it’s in progress or any upfront fees.
If your case is won, you will pay a success fee, which is a pre-agreed percentage, as per the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. This fee is deducted and paid directly from your compensation.
Furthermore, our panel of data breach solicitors are trusted for their extensive list of support services to help make the claims process as stress-free as possible. We’ve selected some examples for you to take a look at below. We will:
- Ensure all losses are included in your claim
- Handle negotiations with the defending party
- Calculate a fair and reasonable compensation figure
- Find and consolidate evidence on your behalf
- Arrange an independent medical assessment to ensure all harm has been accounted for
We’d like to inform you that this is not an exhaustive list. In fact, why not get in touch with us today? We can discuss the other avenues of support that we can offer you at this time. Simply use any of the below methods of communication to find out what else we can offer you:
Contact Our Team Of Advisors
- Phone us on 020 8050 6279
- Contact us online
- Our live chat has a bot-free guarantee–you’re just a click away from talking to a dedicated advisor.
More Information
Please access the following links to read some of our other claim guides:
- Information on claiming after receiving a data breach notification letter.
- Learn what to do if your data has been breached.
Here are some external resources for you:
- Tips for staying secure online from the National Cyber Security Centre.
- Get help with anxiety, fear or panic in this NHS resource.
- This helpful ICO resource explains the lawful basis for processing personal data.
Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on disclosing personal information compensation claims.