A woman holding a mug and pinching the bridge of her nose looking distressed.

Data Breach Emotional Distress Compensation – Could I Claim?

If you have had your personal data compromised, this could lead to you suffering a variety of psychological injuries, such as depression, anxiety or emotional distress. Data breach emotional distress compensation can be awarded independently of compensation for monetary loss. Therefore, we have made this guide to claiming for emotional distress after a personal data breach.

We’ll cover key topics such as the eligibility criteria to claim, the role of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for information rights, and how solicitors calculate potential data breach compensation amounts.

In the final section, we have provided a short overview of the No Win No Fee agreement the expert data breach solicitors on our panel can offer their services under.

You can get a free consultation on your potential claim’s validity by speaking to our advisory team. You can reach us 24 hours a day using the contact information provided here:

  • Call us on 020 8050 3051
  • You can also contact us online by completing this form.
  • Or, you can use the live chat function at the bottom of your screen.

Data breach written on two wooden blocks next to a blue notepad

Browse This Guide

  1. What Is A Data Breach?
  2. What Is Data Breach Emotional Distress Compensation?
  3. How Much Data Breach Emotional Distress Compensation Could I Receive?
  4. What Should I Do To Claim For Emotional Distress After A Data Breach?
  5. How Can A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor Help Me?
  6. Read More About Data Breach Claims

What Is A Data Breach?

The ICO summarises a data breach as any security incident that impacts the availability, integrity or confidentiality of personal data. This can apply to both human error and intentional data breaches.

There are 3 relevant parties you need to know about when seeking compensation for a data breach. These are:

  • Data subjects are the living individuals that can be identified from the personal data.
  • Data controllers are the organisations that decide when, why and how your personal data will be stored, handled or processed.
  • Data processors are external organisations that a data controller may use to process data for them. It is worth noting that not every data controller will make use of outside processing services.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018, data controllers and processors are required to keep your personal data protected and only use it on a lawful basis.

Eligibility Criteria To Claim Data Breach Compensation

We have summarised the eligibility criteria to begin a claim for data breach emotional distress compensation after those legal obligations are not met here:

  1. There was some wrongful conduct on the part of the data controller or processor. This means that they did not adhere to data protection laws.
  2. This wrongful conduct resulted in a personal data breach in which your personal information was affected.
  3. You experienced financial losses, psychological distress or both as a result of this.

What we mean by personal data is any information that could be used to identify a living individual, whether directly or indirectly. Names, contact details, bank and credit card information are all classed as personal data. More sensitive personal information is known as “special category data” and requires higher standards of protection.

To get a free assessment of your eligibility to claim data breach compensation or to ask any questions you may have, contact our advisors today.

What Is Data Breach Emotional Distress Compensation?

There are two types of damage that data breach compensation can be awarded for:

  • Material damage: this means the financial costs of having your personal data exposed, but we’ll cover this in more detail below.
  • Non-material damage: this refers to the psychological impact of experiencing a breach of your personal data. Data breach emotional distress compensation is awarded for non-material damage.

Non-material damage is a very broad category of harm. The psychological harm caused by a personal data breach can range from general distress and anxiety to serious post-traumatic stress disorder in the most severe of cases.

During the case of Vidal-Hall v Google Inc. 2015, the Court of Appeal ruled psychological distress due to misuse of personal data can be compensated independently of any financial losses. Therefore, as we examine in the next section, you could claim compensation for emotional distress and other psychiatric harm without experiencing any monetary losses.

A magnet being held over a laptop with passwords coming out of it

How Much Data Breach Emotional Distress Compensation Could I Receive?

Calculating a potential data breach emotional distress compensation figure is something the solicitors on our expert panel can assist you with. Those given responsibility for this task can refer to your professional psychiatric diagnosis alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

The JCG publication contains compensation guidelines for various types of harm. We have used the psychological harm guidelines, apart from the first entry, in the table here.

Compensation Table

Please take note that the information given in this table is intended to act as guidance only.

Type of DamageSeverityGuideline Compensation FigureNotes
Severe Psychiatric Harm with Significant Financial LossesVery SevereUp to £500,000 +Severe psychological distress with significant material damage including lost earnings, relocation costs and medical expenses.
General Psychiatric InjurySevere (a)£66,920 to £141,240Marked problems relating to ability to cope with work, education and personal life and a very poor prognosis.
Moderately Severe (b)£23,270 to £66,920A more positive prognosis than above but significant problems with regard to employment and the ability to cope with daily life will remain.
Moderate (c)£7,150 to £23,270The injured person will have experienced a marked improvement in their condition and the prognosis will be good.
Less Severe (d)£1,880 to £7,150Awards in this bracket are dependent on the length of disablement, and impact on sleep and day to day activities.
Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderSevere (a)£73,050 to £122,850Permanent and severe effects across all aspects of life preventing anything resembling the pre-trauma functioning.
Moderately Severe (b)£28,250 to £73,050Significant disability for the foreseeable future despite some recovery with professional help.
Moderate (c)£9,980 to £28,250The injured person will have experienced a large scale recovery and not be experiencing any gross disablement.
Less Severe (d)£4,820 to £9,980Virtual recovery within 1 to 2 years, with only minor persisting symptoms.

Material Damage In Data Breach Claims

You may be able to claim compensation for material damage as well the psychological distress during your claim.

Examples of costs you could be compensated for include:

  • Lost earnings due to any time taken off work to recover.
  • Medical bills stemming from treatment for psychological injuries, such as prescription medications or therapy sessions.
  • The costs of security measures or relocation costs should your address be exposed.

Be sure to retain copies of any supporting documents, such as your payslips, invoices and other bills, as evidence of these losses.

This section is intended to act as guidance only. To find out more about what compensation could be paid out in your particular circumstances, talk to our advisory team today.

What Should I Do To Claim For Emotional Distress After A Data Breach?

As part of your data breach emotional distress compensation claim, you will need to provide supporting evidence. The purpose of this evidence is twofold, first is to prove that the data controller or processor breached data protection law and caused the data breach. The second reason is to demonstrate the impact the personal data breach had on you.

Gathering evidence is something the highly experienced data breach solicitors on our panel could assist you with if you have a valid claim. We have provided a list of possible evidence you could use here:

  • The data controller should notify you if a personal data breach occurs. This could be as a written letter or email.
  • You should also retain any additional correspondence between yourself and the organisation.
  • Medical documentation from a psychiatric professional diagnosing you with emotional distress or other psychological conditions. It is a legal right to request copies of your medical records.
  • Payslips, bills, and other proof of any material damage caused.
  • Any findings from an ICO investigation.

As a data subject, it is your right to express concerns to data controllers at any time regarding the handling of your personal information. If you get no meaningful response, or are dissatisfied with the response you receive, you can issue a complaint to the ICO.

While the ICO do not have the power to settle cases or award compensation, they can issue penalties, including substantial fines, to data controllers who fail to comply with the UK GDPR. Any findings from this investigation can be used as evidence in your claim.

For a free assessment of your eligiblity to claim or to ask advisors about the supporting evidence you can use, get in touch today using the contact details given below.

How Can A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor Help Me?

In order to claim data breach emotional distress compensation with a solicitor from our panel of experts, our advisors will first need to assess your eligibility. If your potential claim is deemed valid, you could be offered a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

The CFA is a No Win No Fee contract that gives claimants a number of benefits, including:

  • No fees to pay for the solicitor to begin working on the case.
  • There will also be no fees for that work during the data breach claims process itself.
  • Lastly, if the claim fails, you will not have any service fees to pay.

When starting your claim with a solicitor from our panel of data breach experts, you will only pay a fee if the claim succeeds. Upon winning the case, you will receive data breach compensation. Some of this will make up the solicitor’s success fee, but most of it will be yours to keep.

As The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 puts a legally binding cap of 25% on success fees, you know from the beginning that you will receive the majority of any compensation that is paid out.

You can get a free consultation on your potential claim’s validity by speaking to our advisory team. You can reach us 24 hours a day using the contact information provided here:

  • Call us on 020 8050 3051.
  • You can also contact us online by completing this form.
  • Or, you can use the live chat function at the bottom of your screen.

A solicitor and their client agreeing to a contract for a data breach emotional distress compensation claim

Read More About Data Breach Claims

You can read some of our other data breach claims guides on our website:

We have also included these external resources for additional information:

Thank you for reading this post on claiming data breach emotional distress compensation. To inquire further about the data breach claims process, or for a free assessment of your eligibility, contact our advisors today using the contact information provided above.