This guide discusses child adoption data breach claims. Perhaps personal data about you or your child was compromised during the adoption process. Alternatively, personal data may have been compromised years later. If so, this guide examines the eligibility criteria that must be satisfied and the potential steps that could be taken to seek personal data breach compensation.
How To Make Child Adoption Data Breach Claims
We provide examples of how a data breach by an adoption agency could occur and the impact this could have. We also discuss what settlements awarded in successful claims could include and how any damage suffered could be assigned value.
This guide then explores the evidence you could gather and how it could be used to support your case. Lastly, should you have an eligible case and want expert help, this guide looks at the advantages of instructing a solicitor under a specific No Win No Fee agreement.
Why not contact our advisors to see if you have an eligible case and ask any other questions about data breach claims? To reach out, you can:
- Start discussing your potential case through the live chat feature
- Call our team for free on 020 8050 3051
- Contact us on our website to begin an enquiry online
Select A Section
- What Is The Eligibility Criteria In Child Adoption Data Breach Claims?
- Examples Of Child Adoption Data Breaches
- Child Adoption Data Breach Compensation
- Evidence That Could Help In Child Adoption Data Breach Claims
- Use A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor To Claim Compensation
- Read More About Child Adoption Data Breach Claims
What Is The Eligibility Criteria In Child Adoption Data Breach Claims?
The parties that handle personal data must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). These parties are known as controllers and processors. Data controllers decide how and why your personal data will be processed and may process it themselves. Data processors act on the controller’s behalf. Should they fail to adhere to data protection legislation, a breach of your personal data causing financial loss, psychological damage, or both could occur.
You may be wondering what a personal data breach is. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), an independent body set up to uphold information rights in the UK, states that personal data breaches are security incidents that affect personal data’s integrity, availability and confidentiality.
They also define personal data, explaining it is information that can be used on its own or in conjunction with other information to identify someone. This might include your name, email or home address.
Special category data is a type of personal data that requires extra protection as it’s more sensitive. This includes information revealing or concerning your health or racial or ethnic origin.
Child adoption data breach claims can only proceed if the following eligibility criteria are satisfied. You must be able to show:
- A data controller or processor failed in their obligations to adhere to the DPA or UK GDPR.
- Their failings caused a breach of your personal data.
- Following the personal data breach, you experienced psychological harm and/or financial loss.
Contact our team of advisors today to determine if you can proceed with your case.
Examples Of Child Adoption Data Breaches
Below are some instances of how a child adoption data breach could occur.
- Social services accidentally email your personal data to the wrong person, causing an email data breach.
- An adoption agency fails to put good cyber security in place, allowing a hack involving your personal data to occur.
- A case worker discusses your child’s medical records with an unauthorised party over the phone.
These issues could arise through accidental actions, such as human error or deliberate actions. However, if the personal data breach caused financial loss, mental harm, or both, you might be able to claim compensation. Speak to our advisors for a free consultation now.
Child Adoption Data Breach Compensation
Settlements awarded in successful child adoption data breach claims could include compensation for the mental harm endured following the personal data breach, known as non-material damage.
The level of psychological damage suffered could be valued using the guideline valuation brackets listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document has been referred to when producing the table below.
It’s important to note that the JCG figures should only be used as a guide. Due to each case’s unique nature, the compensation awarded differs and cannot be guaranteed.
The top figure is not from the JCG.
Compensation Table
Type of Psychological Injury Severity Valuation Bracket Notes
Severe impact on mental health alongside substantial financial losses Severe Up to £150,000+ The person suffers a severe impact on their mental health with a negative prognosis that has resulted in significant monetary losses, such as lost income.
Psychiatric Damage Severe £54,830 to £115,730 Very poor prognosis, due to the person having marked problems with all aspects of their life, including relationships and work.
Moderately Severe £19,070 to £54,830 A much more optimistic prognosis but still with significant problems, similar to the bracket above.
Moderate £5,860 to £19,070 A good prognosis, following a marked improvement.
Less Severe £1,540 to £5,860 The level of disability and the length it affects the individual will determine the amount awarded.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Severe £59,860 to £100,670 The persons life will be badly affected in all aspects. As a result, they won't return to pre-trauma levels.
Moderately Severe £23,150 to £59,860 A better prognosis due to some recovery after professional help. However, the person will still suffer from significant disability for the foreseeable future.
Moderate £8,180 to £23,150 The person won't suffer from grossly disabling symptoms, due to making a large recovery.
Less Severe £3,950 to £8,180 Only minor symptoms will persist past two years. This is because within this time, a virtually full recovery is expected.
What Material Damage Could You Claim For?
Compensation can also be awarded for material damage. This addresses the financial loss experienced as a result of the personal data breach. Providing relevant evidence is provided, you could seek compensation for:
- Lost income from needing to take time off work to deal with the impact of the personal data breach.
- The cost of needing to relocate.
Get in touch with our advisors today, who could provide an estimate of your potential personal data breach compensation.
Evidence That Could Help In Child Adoption Data Breach Claims
If a personal data breach has occurred, it does not mean you’re automatically entitled to claim compensation. For child adoption data breach claims to proceed, it must be proven that the eligibility criteria discussed earlier are met. Evidence can help show this, and below, we have listed examples of what you could collect.
- The data controller must notify you of a breach without undue delay if it puts your rights and freedoms at risk. You could also contact them if you suspect a breach has occurred. Correspondence between you and the data controller can be used as evidence. This can include a letter of notification detailing that a breach has occurred and what personal data was affected.
- The data controller must also notify the ICO within 72 hours after discovery of the breach if it meets the threshold for reporting. They might choose to investigate and any findings on their part could potentially support your case.
- Obtaining copies of your own or your child’s medical records could outline the diagnosed psychological damage suffered.
- Providing relevant financial documents could show any financial impacts of the breach, such as wage slips.
Speak with one of our advisors today to establish the facts of your case. If it’s deemed that you have an eligible case, a solicitor from our panel could help gather evidence as part of the services they offer.
Use A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor To Claim Compensation
Supposing you have an eligible case, you may want to appoint a solicitor to ensure it runs smoothly. Our panel of solicitors have plenty of experience dealing with child adoption data breach claims. They also work on a specific No Win No Fee basis, known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which has many benefits.
By working under a CFA, you wouldn’t be required to pay any upfront fees for your solicitor’s services, nor any whilst your case progresses. Moreover, an unsuccessful case would see you not having to pay for their services either.
You would be required to pay if your case is successful. Despite this, your solicitor would take a legally capped percentage of your compensation, which is only small and known as a success fee. This ensures the majority of the award is yours to keep.
If you want to work with a solicitor this way, why not speak to our advisors for a free case check? If you have a valid personal data breach claim, they could introduce you to a solicitor from our panel.
To learn more, contact us today.
- Call the team on 020 8050 3051
- Message an advisor via the live chat feature on our website
- Contact us online to begin your enquiry
Read More About Child Adoption Data Breach Claims
For more help, please follow these links:
- A guide on claiming compensation for distress following a data breach.
- Find out what to do if your personal data is breached.
- Guidance on making a credit card data breach claim.
For some other resources:
- Information about how to get your medical records from the NHS.
- A guide about how to make a complaint to the ICO.
- Information about statutory sick pay from GOV.UK.
We appreciate you reading our guide about child adoption data breach claims. If you have any other questions, please contact our team using the number above.