Breach Of Data Compensation Claims Explained

breach of data compensation claim explained

Are you wondering what the breach of data compensation claims process entails? According to data protection law, every UK resident has the right to have any personal data that is processed kept secure. If your personal information was exposed or breached as a result of an organisation’s failings, then you may be able to claim.

In this article, we will explain the criteria for making data breach claims, what personal data is, and the time limits of a data breach compensation claim. Furthermore, we will elaborate on potential compensation amounts you could be eligible for as well as how our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors could help you.

To find out more about the breach of data compensation claims process then, talk to our advisors today to see if your claim could be valid. They can provide free and relevant legal advice, and they could put you in touch with our panel of expert solicitors. Talk to our advisors now by:

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What Are Breach Of Data Compensation Claims?
What Is Personal Data?
Who Are Data Controllers And Processors?
Limitation Period For Breach Of Data Compensation Claims?
Breach Of Data Compensation Claims Calculator
Discuss Your Case With Our Team

What Are Breach Of Data Compensation Claims?

The UK General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) are two pieces of legislation that govern data protection for UK residents. A personal data breach occurs when a security incident affects your data’s availability, confidentiality, or integrity.

If personal data is stolen, lost, altered, destroyed, disclosed or accessed without authority deliberately or accidentally, then it has been breached. Please note that even if a data breach is caused by accidental means, such as through human error, you may still have a valid personal data breach claim. However, there is a criterion that must be fulfilled in order to be eligible for a claim. This includes;

Proving that the organisation that was responsible for your data did not keep it as secure as data protection laws require.
This meant your personal data was breached.
As a consequence of the breach, you incurred financial losses and/or suffered mental harm.

To learn more about eligibility for breach of data compensation claims, contact our advisors today.

What Is Personal Data?

Your personal data includes any information that might identify you. For example, this could include your:

Name
Email address
Postal address
Date of birth

Personal data also includes special category data. This is personal data that require additional protection under data protection legislation and can include information regarding your:

Health
Biometric data
Trade union membership
Religion or philosophy
Ethnicity or nationality

Organisations will not always need your permission to share your data. This is because there are 6 lawful bases for data processing, and consent is only one of these. As such, a breach of data may occur when data is shared or processed without a lawful basis.

Contact our advisors today to find out if you could make a breach of personal data claim.

Who Are Data Controllers And Processors?

The organisations that handle your personal data are known as data controllers and data processors. A data controller decides how and why they use your data, whereas a data processor acts on the controller’s behalf. Data controllers and processors must comply with the UK GDPR and the DPA. However, not every breach of data protection law results in the basis for a valid claim.

Organisations that could be considered data controllers include:

Medical organisations, such as NHS Trusts
Employers
Schools
Social services
Banks

For more information on who may be liable for your personal data being breached, speak to our advisors today.

Limitation Period For Breach Of Data Compensation Claims?

Data breach claims have different time limits according to who you are making them against. In general, data breach claiming time limits are 6 years; however, if your case is against a public body, then that is shortened to a 1-year time window.

Additionally, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) states that if a breach occurs affecting the freedoms of a data subject, then the party handling your data should inform you as soon as possible. This helps to prevent further breaches.

Furthermore, if you discovered the personal data breach yourself, then the ICO has an extensive reporting system, and they can investigate the breach on your behalf. They can even level penalties against the party that breached your data, however, this is not part of your compensation.

Breach Of Data Compensation Claims Calculator

If you succeed in the breach of data compensation claims process, then you will receive compensation for two categories of damage, such as:

Material damage – The physical losses due to compromised banking information, leading to theft, fraudulent credit card purchases, identity impersonation, plus falsified loan applications.
Non-material damage – Mental health injuries including anxiety, depression, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), amongst other psychological issues.

In the recent Vidal-Hall v Google Inc 2015 case, The Court of Appeals stated you may be eligible for non-material damage compensation without proof of financial loss.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) 16th edition 2022 outlines the potential settlement figures for non-material damage. It distinguishes injuries depending on the type and how seriously they have impacted the injured person’s life. The below table shows the possible compensation brackets for your mental health injuries:

Injury	Compensation	Notes
Severe psychiatric general damage (a)	£54,830 to £115,730	Where there are notable problems in coping with all aspects of life and relationships.
Moderately severe psychiatric general damage (b)	£19,070 to £54,830	Significant problems still exist with the above factors, but the prognosis is more optimistic than above.
Moderate psychiatric general damage (c)	£5,860 to £19,070	Improvement of symptoms by the time of trial.
Less severe psychiatric general damage (d)	£1,540 to £5,860	The level of the award considers disability periods and the effect it has on daily life and sleep.
Severe post-trauma stress (a)	£59,860 to £100,670	There is no function at the pre-trauma level.
Moderately severe post-trauma stress (b)	£23,150 to £59,860	The prognosis is better than the above due to some recovery with professional treatment.
Moderate post-trauma stress (c)	£8,180 to £23,150	Where there is a large recovery with some non-disabling symptoms remaining.
Less severe post-trauma stress (d)	£3,950 to £8,180	A near full recovery in a two-year time span, with minor symptoms lasting longer.

If you have any questions about breach of data compensation claims, contact our advisors today.

Discuss Your Case With Our Team

If you want more advice about personal data breach claims, then our advisors can help. They can provide free and relevant advice, plus they can understand if you have solid grounds for a successful claim. They could potentially forward you to our panel of expert solicitors, too, who are well-versed in many areas of the law, including accidents at work, medical negligence, and road traffic accidents too.

Our panel of lawyers works under Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA), which are popular arrangements for those wishing to hire a solicitor’s services. A CFA lawyer has no upfront costs, and you pay no fees if your claim fails.

On the other hand, if your claim succeeds, they take payment through a success fee. This is a small capped percentage of your awarded compensation.

So if you would like help, talk to our advisors today by: