Children In Care Data Breach Compensation Claims
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 5th December 2022. In this guide, we will discuss children in care data breach claims. We’ll cover the potential factors that may make you eligible to claim and what steps are involved in making such claims. Social services are responsible for the care of vulnerable children and adults. As such, they are often provided with sensitive and personal information. If personal data about children is stolen or leaked due to social services, it could psychologically or financially harm those involved.
Children in care data breach claims guide
Through this article, we will explain what a children in care data breach is, how you can make a claim against a care service, and the benefits of choosing a No Win No Fee solicitor to make your claim.
Get in touch today to start your claim by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Starting your claim online
Select A Section
- What Is A Children In Care Data Breach?
- Potential Examples Of Care Services Data Breaches
- Can You Make A Children In Care Data Breach Claim For Distress?
- How To Make A Data Breach Claim Against A Care Service
- Data Breach Claims Calculator For When Personal Data About Children Is Stolen Or Leaked
- Contact Our No Win No Fee Team About Children In Care Data Breach Claims
What Is A Children In Care Data Breach?
Social services look after and are responsible for the safety of many vulnerable children and adults within our country. They not only process personal information but also very sensitive documents.
So how can personal and sensitive information be breached? Personal data breaches can happen in a number of ways, through both criminal activity and human error. For example, if a server holding sensitive information is hacked, or if an employee loses their notebook that contains service user information.
Those who decide how and why personal data is processed are known as data controllers. So a care service would be known as a data controller. The information that is collected belongs to a data subject. There are laws in place that protect any sensitive or personal information that is processed.
What Are Data Protection Laws?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU directive that was brought about to add an added protection to the personal information of data subjects. This was ratified into UK law by the Data Protection Act 2018. This legislation outlines the proper handling and storing of personal data, including the data of children in care.
However, the UK is no longer part of the EU. Since the Withdrawal Agreement in 2021, the UK no longer has to adhere to many EU directives. This brought about the UK version of the GDPR (UK GDPR). This runs alongside the now updated version of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) works in tandem with this legislation as the independent government body assigned to take action against organisations that breach data protection laws.
If you have been affected by a children in care data breach and wish to pursue compensation, contact our team of advisors today.
Guidelines For Protecting Children’s Data
The government provides guidelines for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children and young people. These guidelines include helpful tips, such as:
- Be open with the individuals about who the information will be shared with and try to get their agreement before sharing the information unless it is inappropriate or unsafe.
- Keep a record of your decisions and the reasons behind them. For example, if you shared information, record why you did it, and who with.
- Base your sharing decisions on the safety and wellbeing of the individual and anyone who may be affected by your actions.
If relevant organisations take all reasonable steps to follow these government guidelines closely, this should reduce the chances of personal data about children being leaked. However, the guidelines are not a guarantee that data breaches won’t happen; they can sometimes happen even if an organisation takes reasonable steps to follow the guidelines.
Potential Examples Of Care Services Data Breaches
Personal data breaches can happen in a number of ways, either by criminal means or through human error. We’ve compiled a short list of scenarios that could potentially result in a data breach below:
- Hacking: Criminals can hack into secure servers and steal personal information, either for monetary gain or for identity fraud reasons. If the network used by your local council does not have the appropriate cybersecurity infrastructure in place, and your data is stolen as a result, you may be able to make a claim.
- Loss of files: For example, if your social worker loses your case file on public transport, even if it is then recovered, you could experience significant emotional distress. If your personal data is lost in a breach, call our advisors for the next steps you could be eligible to take.
- Mishandling of data: An example of your data being mishandled could be if personal information on a computer screen, is left open to the public to view. This information could then be read, copied, or stored by anyone who has access to the computer.
To learn more about how a care service data breach can happen, and to find out if you have a valid claim, contact our advisors today.
ICO Action Against Councils
The ICO is the independent government body responsible for the enforcement of UK GDPR and data protection laws. Social services are very often part of the local council, and as such any children in care data breach claims should be directed there.
Statistics published by the ICO state that 2,532 data security incidents were reported by local governments in the year 2021/22. Of this number, 2,322 of these reports were non-cyber incidents, and 210 were down to cyber incidents.
Can You Make A Children In Care Data Breach Claim For Distress?
Due to the personal and often confidential nature of the data surrounding children in care, data breaches in this area could result in significant distress. Even if you suffer no financial loss due to a data breach, if you suffer emotional distress or stress due to a data breach, you may be eligible to make a claim.
For example, many children in care live at secured addresses for their own safety. If this address is revealed, the information could be found by a former abuser. This knowledge could cause significant stress and anxiety.
To be eligible to make a children in care data breach claim you must be able to show how those that had a responsibility to secure your personal information failed to take the necessary steps to keep it safe. Also, children under the age of 18 cannot represent themselves in a data breach claim. A litigation friend must be appointed while a child is still a minor. If no claim is made by the time the minor turns 18 they are legally able to start their own data breach claim.
Our advisors can offer free legal advice surrounding the children in care data breach. Get in touch today by following the information at the top of this page.
How To Make A Data Breach Claim Against A Care Service
If you have suffered harm due to a children in care data breach, you may wonder how to make a claim. See below to find out how you can take steps towards a data breach claim.
- Make a complaint: When you find out that your information has been involved in a data breach, you can make a complaint. In this case, your complaint should be made to your local council.
- Contact the ICO: If you are not happy with the response from the data controller you can make a complaint to the ICO. But you cannot leave it for longer than 3 months since your last meaningful correspondence with the data controller. They may then begin an official investigation.
- Gather evidence: Gathering evidence of any harm you might have suffered can help strengthen your claim. For example, medical records that detail stress or anxiety, or financial records showing proof of fraud.
- Get legal advice: You are not obligated to hire legal representation to make a data breach claim. However, the expert knowledge of a No Win No Fee solicitor can make the process feel less stressful.
Our advisors can help you find out if you have a valid claim. If you do, they can connect you to our No Win No Fee data breach solicitors. Contact us now to learn more.
Data Breach Claims Calculator For When Personal Data About Children Is Stolen Or Leaked
There are two types of data breach compensation you can receive following a data breach claim, covering both financial and mental distress. These include:
- Material damages: Material damages cover any financial losses you may have incurred due to the breach. For example, in a bank data breach, if your details are stolen and you suffer financial or identity theft, you could claim for these losses.
- Non-material damages: Non-material damages cover the psychological suffering you may have endured due to the breach. For example, if a victim of domestic abuse was involved in a data breach, and their address was made available to the public, including their abuser or stalker, this could cause anxiety, stress, and PTSD.
Following the ruling of Vidal-Hall and Others V Google Inc. 2015, you do not need to suffer financial loss in order to claim for emotional distress. To get an idea of what you could receive, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) provide compensation brackets for emotional and mental injuries. You can find some examples of these in the table below:
| Injury | Compensation Bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychiatric Damage | £51,460 to £108,620 | Severe psychiatric damage with effects on the ability to cope with work, life, education, relationships, with little response to treatment. |
| Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage | £17,900 to £51,460 | Similar to the case above, however a more optimistic prognosis is expected and response to treatment. |
| Moderate Psychiatric Damage | £5,500 to £17,900 | Cases with good response to treatment and an optimistic prognosis |
| Less Severe Psychiatric damage | £1,440 to £5,500 | Consideration given to the length of period of disability and severity of issues such as work and sleep are affected. |
| Severe PTSD | £56,180 to £94,470 | Cases of permanent effects which prevent working or functioning at the pre-trauma level. |
| Moderately Severe PTSD | £21,730 to £56,180 | Similar to the case above, but with a better prognosis and chance of recovery. |
| Moderate PTSD | £7,680 to £21,730 | Effects that are not grossly disabling with large recovery. |
| Less Severe PTSD | £3,710 to £7,680 | Full recovery within two years. Remaining symptoms will be minor, if any. |
If you think you have sufficient evidence to make a data breach claim, contact our advisors today. They can provide free legal advice and a free estimation of what your claim could be worth.
Contact Our No Win No Fee Team About Children In Care Data Breach Claims
You do not need to hire legal representation to make a data breach claim. However, the advice and guidance of a No Win No Fee solicitor can make the process feel less stressful. It can be difficult to navigate the legal processes that come with making a claim, but our No Win No Fee solicitors can help.
When you enter into a No Win No Fee agreement, you do not have to pay any upfront or ongoing fees to your solicitor. If your claim succeeds, your solicitor will take a legally-capped percentage of your award as their success fee. This percentage will be decided before you start your claim. However, if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay any fees to your solicitor.
Our advisors can provide free legal advice and more information on how to start your claim. If your claim is valid, they can put you in touch with our No Win No Fee solicitors.
Get in touch today by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Starting your claim online
Data Protection Breach Resources
If you found this article helpful, you may also like:
- Data breach FAQs
- Nursery Data Breach Compensation Claims
- What Could Be A Post Office Money Data Breach?
Or, for more resources surrounding children in care data breach claims, try:
We hope that this guide on claiming if personal data about children is stolen or leaked while under the care of social services has been helpful. If you would like to speak to an advisor about certain aspects of claiming or starting your own data breach claim, then you can reach Legal Expert online or on the phone using the contact details found in this guide.
