If a personal data breach involving your medical records or other health data has caused you harm, you may be entitled to seek compensation, with the amount depending on the impact the breach has had on your life. Medical data breach compensation claims can include both non-material damage, such as psychological harm, anxiety, or distress, and material damage, such as lost earnings or other financial losses caused by the incident. Because medical information is a type of special category data, its compromise can feel especially intrusive, leaving you worried about your privacy, wellbeing and who may have accessed highly personal details. If a healthcare provider or another organisation failed to comply with data protection law and this led to a personal data breach involving your medical information, you could make a data breach compensation claim.
If you have been affected by a medical data breach and are unsure how much compensation you could claim, Data Breach Claims could provide the support and guidance you need. Our panel of specialist solicitors have experience handling medical data breach compensation claims and can assess whether you have valid grounds to pursue a claim. Whether your medical records were disclosed without authorisation, accessed by someone who should not have seen them, lost, altered or otherwise affected by a personal data breach, our panel can help gather evidence and ensure that all psychological harm and financial losses are taken into account when calculating your claim.
Through a No Win No Fee arrangement, our panel can guide you through the claims process while working to secure the compensation you deserve. In this guide, we explain how compensation is calculated, what evidence could strengthen your claim and the factors that may affect how much compensation you could receive.
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Jump To A Section
- Can I Make A Claim After My Medical Data Was Breached?
- What If My Medical Data Was Breached By The NHS?
- Medical Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Private Healthcare Provider
- What Types Of Data Might Medical Records Hold?
- What Might Cause A Breach Of Medical Data?
- How Much Medical Data Breach Compensation Can I Claim?
- Can Compensation For A Medical Data Breach Cover Material Damage?
- How Can I Pursue A Medical Data Breach Compensation Claim?
- Claiming For Medical Record Breaches With Data Breach Claims’ Panel Of Solicitors
- No Win No Fee Medical Data Breach Compensation Claims
- More Information
Can I Make A Claim After My Medical Data Was Breached?
Yes, you could be eligible to claim compensation following a medical data breach if an organisation’s failure to comply with data protection law led to the breach and caused you financial loss, psychological harm or both.
A solicitor from our panel can help you prove that:
- A data controller or data processor failed to comply with data protection legislation
- Leading to your personal data being compromised
- Causing you to suffer psychological harm, financial losses or both
A data controller decides how and why personal data is processed, while a data processor processes personal data on the controller’s behalf. Data processing is any action performed on personal data. This can include collecting, recording, storing, organising, using, sharing, accessing, altering or deleting personal information.
A personal data breach is a security incident that affects the confidentiality, availability or integrity of personal data and may result in the destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of or unauthorised access to personal data.
UK Data Breach Law
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) set out the rules organisations must follow when handling personal data, including medical information.
Medical information is a type of personal data, and some health data may also be classed as special category data because of its sensitive nature, which receives additional protection under the UK GDPR.
This could include medical records, diagnosis information, treatment details or other healthcare information that could identify you. Organisations that handle this information have a responsibility to keep it secure and process it lawfully.
However, not every personal data breach will result in a valid compensation claim. To successfully pursue medical data breach compensation, you must be able to show that an organisation’s failure to protect your personal data led to a personal data breach and that the incident caused you harm.
Continue reading to learn how compensation is calculated and how our panel of solicitors could help you pursue a claim.
What If My Medical Data Was Breached By The NHS?
You could make a claim if your medical data was breached by the NHS. Like any other organisation that handles personal data, NHS trusts, hospitals, GP surgeries and other NHS bodies must comply with the UK GDPR and the DPA when processing personal data.
NHS medical data breaches can occur for a variety of reasons, including human error, records being sent to the wrong recipient or unauthorised access to medical information.
Regardless of how the breach happened, our panel of solicitors could assess your circumstances and advise whether you have valid grounds to pursue NHS data breach compensation.
Medical Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Private Healthcare
You could claim for a private healthcare provider data breach if they were responsible for a personal data breach involving your medical information.
Private hospitals, clinics, dentists and other healthcare organisations often process large amounts of personal data and health data. This means they have a responsibility to protect this information and ensure it is handled, stored, accessed, used and disclosed lawfully and securely.
If a private healthcare provider failed to protect your personal data and this resulted in a personal data breach that caused you psychological harm, financial losses or both, you could have grounds to pursue compensation.
For more information about claiming after a private healthcare provider breached your data, please get in touch with our friendly advisors today.
What Types Of Data Might Medical Records Hold?
Medical records can contain a wide range of personal data used to provide treatment, monitor a patient’s health and manage healthcare services.
Examples of information that may be held within a patient’s records include:
- Your name, address and contact details
- Date of birth
- NHS number
- Medical history
- Diagnoses and treatment information
- Prescription records
- Test results and scans
- Appointment details
- Mental health information
- Sexual health information
- Biometric data used for identification purposes
- Emergency contact details
The combination of identifying information, healthcare details and special category data means medical records can provide a detailed picture of a person’s life, making it particularly important that organisations handle this information securely.
Contact an advisor from Data Breach Claims to learn more about the types of data that can be contained within your medical records and what to do if any of this information has been compromised.
What Might Cause A Breach Of Medical Data?
Medical data breaches can occur when healthcare organisations fail to properly protect the personal data they process, whether because of human error, inadequate staff training, poor data handling practices or cyber incidents.
Healthcare providers process large volumes of personal data and health data every day. When staff are not adequately trained or data protection procedures are not followed correctly, patient information can be put at risk. Organisations that process personal data are expected to comply with data protection law and have appropriate measures in place to safeguard that information.
Examples of incidents that could lead to a personal data breach include:
- Medical records being sent to the wrong patient
- Appointment or medical letters being posted to an incorrect address
- Emails or health-related e-newsletters being sent without using the blind carbon copy (BCC) feature
- Prescription information being disclosed to the wrong recipient
- Healthcare staff accessing patient records without authorisation
- Test results being altered
- Patient information being discussed where it can be overheard by unauthorised persons
- Lost or stolen paperwork containing medical information
- Healthcare systems being targeted in a cyber attack
- Medical records not being securely disposed of when no longer needed
These are only a few causes of medical data breaches, so please get in touch with our advisors for more information.
How Much Medical Data Breach Compensation Can I Claim?
The amount of compensation you could receive following a medical data breach will depend on the impact the incident has had on you. Compensation may be awarded for non-material damage, which covers the psychological harm caused by the personal data breach, as well as material damage, which covers any financial losses you have experienced as a result which we discuss in further depth before.
Medical data breach compensation claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Factors that may affect the value of your claim include the severity of your psychological injuries, the extent of any financial losses and the overall effect the breach has had on your daily life. In more serious cases, the impact may continue for the foreseeable future.
To help value non-material damage, solicitors often refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which provide guideline compensation brackets for different types of psychological harm. We have included a compensation table below containing figures that may be relevant to your claim.
Please also be aware that the top entry is not taken from the JCG and the table is only intended as a guide.
| Harm | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Psychological Harm + Material Damage | Very Severe mental harm and compensation for material damage such as lost income, relocation costs and medical treatment expenses | Up to £500,000+ |
| General Psychiatric Damage | Severe (a) - when the award is being valued, professionals will consider the injured person's ability to cope with education, work and life | £72,440 to £152,900 |
| Moderately Severe (b) - more optimistic prognosis than above but significant problems | £25,190 to £72,440 | |
| Moderate (c) - marked psychiatric improvement by trial with a good prognosis | £7,740 to £25,190 | |
| Less Severe (d) - the award will consider the duration of disability and the extent that sleep and daily activities were affected | £2,040 to £7,740 | |
| PTSD | Severe (a) - permanent impacts that prevent the person from working or functioning near the pre-trauma level | £79,080 to £133,000 |
| Moderately Severe (b) - better prognosis with some recovery with professional help | £30,580 to £79,080 | |
| Moderate (c) - largely recovered but any remaining impacts will not be grossly disabling | £10,810 to £30,580 | |
| Less Severe (d) - a virtual full recovery will be made within one to two years and only minor symptoms will persist | £5,220 to £10,810 |
We Can Help With Your Claim
Our team of specialist advisors are ready to assist you with your data breach claim
Can Compensation For A Medical Data Breach Cover Material Damage?
Yes, compensation for a medical data breach could include an award for material damage. Material damage refers to the financial losses you have suffered as a result of the data breach. In addition to compensation for any psychological harm caused by the incident, you may be able to recover certain financial losses that arose because your medical information was exposed, lost, altered or compromised in some way.
Examples of material damage that could potentially be included in a medical data breach compensation claim include:
- Loss of earnings if the personal data breach affected your mental wellbeing and resulted in you taking time off work.
- The cost of therapy, counselling or other treatment needed to help you cope with the psychological impact of the breach.
- Relocation costs if the disclosure of your personal data caused concerns for your safety and led you to move home.
- The cost of security measures for your property if additional protection was needed following the breach.
To support a claim for material damage, it is important to keep evidence of any financial losses you have experienced. Depending on your circumstances, this could include payslips, invoices, receipts or other documents that demonstrate the impact the personal data breach has had on you.
To learn more about material damage within your medical data breach compensation, please call an advisor today.
How Can I Pursue A Medical Data Breach Compensation Claim?
Pursuing a medical data breach compensation claim typically involves establishing how the personal data breach occurred, gathering evidence of the harm it caused and demonstrating that a data controller or data processor failed to comply with data protection law.
Because medical information is often highly personal and may include special category data, it is important to keep records of both the breach itself and any psychological harm or financial losses you have experienced as a result.
Data Breach Claims’ panel of solicitors could help eligible claimants through every stage of the claims process, from assessing the circumstances of the breach to gathering evidence and valuing the compensation that may be owed. The following steps can help you get started with pursuing your own claim:
Identify What Medical Data Has Been Breached
Start by establishing what personal data was affected and how you became aware of the breach. This could include medical records, diagnosis information, treatment details, prescription information or other health data. It may also be helpful to create a timeline of when the incident occurred and when you first became aware of it.
Gather Evidence
Collect any evidence showing that the breach occurred. This could include a data breach notification letter, emails from the organisation responsible, copies of incorrectly disclosed documents or other correspondence relating to the incident. A solicitor from our panel can gather these items for you.
Contact The Healthcare Provider
You may wish to contact the organisation responsible for the breach and ask:
- What personal data was involved?
- How the personal data breach occurred.
- What steps are being taken to address the incident?
- What measures are being introduced to prevent a similar breach from happening again?
Keep copies of any correspondence you receive.
Report the Breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
If you are unhappy with the organisation’s response to the personal data breach, you may choose to raise your concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
This should be done within 3 months of your last meaningful communication with the organisation about the breach. The ICO may decide to investigate whether the organisation complied with its data protection obligations. While the ICO cannot award compensation, any findings they make could potentially support your claim.
The ICO is the UK’s independent data protection regulator.
Record Psychological Impacts
Medical data breaches can have a significant emotional impact. Evidence such as medical records, GP notes, counselling records or documentation relating to treatment for anxiety, distress or other psychological harm may help support your claim.
Seek Specialist Legal Advice
At Data Breach Claims, our panel of specialist solicitors can assess the circumstances of the breach, identify the evidence needed to support your claim and ensure that all material and non-material damage are considered when valuing your case. If eligible, you may be able to pursue compensation through a No Win No Fee arrangement without paying upfront solicitor fees.
As well as the above steps, it’s important that your claim is started within the time limits. Get in touch with our advisors today for more information about how these apply to your own data breach claim.
Claiming For Medical Record Breaches With Data Breach Claims’ Panel Of Solicitors
If your medical records have been compromised in a data breach, pursuing compensation can feel overwhelming, particularly when sensitive health information is involved. Data Breach Claims’ panel of specialist data breach solicitors could help you understand your options, build your case and ensure the full impact of the breach is taken into account when seeking compensation.
Our panel can support a claim by:
- Helping establish the psychological impact of a medical data breach, particularly where concerns about the misuse of health information have affected your mental wellbeing.
- Gathering evidence of material damage, including lost earnings, therapy costs, relocation expenses or home security costs incurred because of the breach.
- Calculating both your material damage and non-material damage to ensure the full impact of the medical data breach is reflected in your claim.
- Investigating whether the healthcare provider, hospital, clinic, GP surgery or other organisation responsible failed to comply with data protection law when processing your personal data.
- Identifying whether inadequate staff training, poor data handling practices or insufficient security measures may have contributed to the breach.
- Negotiating with the healthcare organisation responsible and presenting evidence to support the compensation you are seeking.
Discovering that your medical information has been breached can be distressing. Contact our advisory team today to discuss your circumstances and find out whether you could make a claim. If eligible, a solicitor from our panel could help you build a strong case and pursue the compensation you may be entitled to.
No Win No Fee Medical Data Breach Compensation Claims
If you are eligible to pursue compensation following a medical data breach, our panel of solicitors offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
This means:
- You would not need to pay any upfront solicitor service fees.
- You would not pay ongoing solicitor service fees during the claims process.
- You would not pay your solicitor’s service fees if your claim is unsuccessful.
Should your claim succeed, a success fee will be deducted from your compensation. This fee will be discussed and agreed before work begins and is capped by law to make sure that you receive the majority of your compensation.
Contact Data Breach Claims Today
Get in touch with our advisory team to learn in minutes if you could claim medical data breach compensation. You can reach us by:
- Calling us on 020 8050 6279
- Contacting us online
- Talking to an advisor using our live chat
More Information
Read some of our other guides about:
- How to make local authority data breach claims
- Pension data breach compensation claims
- GP surgery data breaches
Helpful External Resources
- Find out how to make a data protection complaint, from the ICO
- NHS PTSD information
- Information on the UK’s data protection legislation from gov.uk
We hope our medical data breach compensation claims guide has been useful today.