Claiming Compensation For Lost or Missing Medical Records

By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 10th November 2023. In this guide, we’ll talk about claiming for lost medical records compensation. Those who have concerns such as ‘my medical records have gone missing’ could potentially experience financial losses or psychological harm. The issue may also, in some cases, potentially lead to discrimination on the grounds of medical history. It is only in these instances that you would be eligible to claim.

We have created this guide to give you information and advice on claiming compensation for lost medical records.

In the sections below, we explain how the NHS and other healthcare providers should protect the confidentiality of your personal data.

We explain what happens if medical records are lost and how to calculate compensation for the harm you’ve suffered because of such an incident.

In addition to this, we answer common questions about lost records, and how our team could help you if you’d like to start a claim. If you have any questions while reading this guide, or would like us to offer you a free eligibility check on your case, you can reach our team of expert advisors through:

• Telephone: 0800 073 8804
• E-mail: info@legalexpert.co.uk
• Using our contact form
• Chatting with us via Live Chat

Loss of medical records data breach claims guide

Select A Section

1. When Could I Claim For A Medical Records Data Breach?
2. How Could Your Medical Records Be Lost?
3. How Can I Prove My Medical Records Have Gone Missing
4. Lost Medical Records Compensation In The UK
5. Claiming For Lost Medical Records With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

When Could I Claim For A Medical Records Data Breach?

Any organisation that processes your personal data must take all the necessary precautions to protect it. They must also adhere to data protection laws, which are the UK General Protection Data Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If an organisation fails to comply with data protection laws, this could result in a personal data breach. A personal data breach is a security incident that compromises the integrity, availability and confidentiality of personal data. For example, if an organisation lost your medical records.

To be eligible to make a claim for a personal data breach, you will need to prove:

1. Your personal data was compromised in the breach.
2. The breach was caused by the organisation’s failings.
3. Due to the personal data breach, you suffered financially or mentally.

Contact our advisors today to see if you could claim for a medical records data breach.

What Are My Medical Records?

Your medical records contain personal details such as:

• Your name
• Address
• Your email address
• Details of medical conditions you may have
• Test results
• Information regarding injuries and illnesses

They could be held on computers or on paper records. Regardless, all of the information in those medical records should be kept confidential. If your data privacy has been exposed because your medical records have been lost, this could be considered a data breach.

What Is A Data Breach?

A data breach, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), is a data security incident leading to personal data being:

• Stolen
• Accessed without authorisation/unlawfully
• Transmitted, disclosed, stored, altered or processed without authorisation/unlawfully
• Lost

How Could Your Medical Records Be Lost?

There are various ways in which your medical records could be lost. These could include:

• Faulty computer systems, software or cloud services
• A cyber attack that leads to the loss of data, such as a hacking
• Files being misplaced
• Reports slipping out of paper files
• Filing errors

Your claim would need to establish that your medical records were lost while in the possession of an organisation responsible for protecting them. It will also need to prove that the records were lost because the organisation failed to take the correct steps to prevent this data breach from occurring. 

How Can I Prove My Medical Records Have Gone Missing?

When claiming lost medical records compensation in the UK, you’ll need to provide evidence that your records have gone missing and that you have subsequently experienced harm. Without any evidence, you may struggle to make a claim for data breach compensation.

If you would like to work with one of our expert data breach solicitors, they’ll be able to gather evidence on your behalf. Evidence could include:

• Any correspondence you have had with the organisation at fault
• Proof of financial losses, such as bank statements or receipts
• Correspondence with the ICO, if you reported the breach to them

In addition, they can organise for you to see a medical expert, who would be able to diagnose any mental health problems you may have endured due to the data breach.

If an organisation becomes aware that your personal data has been breached, they are expected to inform you without undue delay. This communication can be used as proof the breach occurred.

Lost Medical Records Compensation In The UK

If your claim for a data breach succeeds, you could be awarded compensation for two types of damage. These are material damage, and non-material damage. The former refers to the financial impact caused by your missing records. The latter refers to the impact of your mental health the personal data breach has caused you. 

When valuing your claim for your non-material damage the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) may be referred to. It lists guideline compensation brackets for different types of psychological damage. 

In our table below, we look at a few figures given for mental health injuries from the 16th edition of the JCG. Please note that these are guideline amounts only.

The top entry of this table does not appear in the JCG.

Material Damage Compensation

As mentioned above, you can also claim compensation for any material damage that has been caused by the data breach. 

For example, by using personal data from your medical records, a criminal might be able to commit identity fraud and take out loans in your name. Or, if you need to take time off work to recover from the psychological impact of the breach, this could result in lost earnings.

Speak with an advisor today to discuss what you could claim for a breach of your medical records.

Claiming For Lost Medical Records With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

If you seek lost medical records compensation and are UK based, one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could potentially help you, provided you have a valid personal data breach claim. By offering you a a Conditional Fee Agreement (which is s type of No Win No Fee contract), you won’t be required to pay any upfront or ongoing service fees. You will also not have to pay them for the services they have provided should your claim be unsuccessful.

In the event that your claim is a success, you will pay the solicitor working on your case a success fee. This is deducted from your compensation, and there is a legal cap in place for the percentage that this fee can be.

For more information on when you could make a claim for a breach of the UK GDPR, or to see if you may be eligible to work with one of our solicitors, you can contact our advisory team. Contact them today by:

•     Calling 0800 073 8804
•     Completing our ‘claim online’ form.
•     Using our live chat.

Contact our team today for more information on claiming lost medical records compensation by following the details in this guide.