NHS Surrey Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide – How Much Compensation Can I Claim? – Amounts For NHS Surrey Data Breach
I Have Been Affected By An NHS Surrey Data Breach, Could I Make A Claim?
By Mark Ainsdale. Last Updated 25th August 2021. Welcome to our guide that explains how much compensation for a data breach you could receive. Any of your personal information that has the potential to act as an identifier, whether indirectly or directly, could be targeted in a data breach. If it’s leaked, destroyed or even accessed without your permission, then you could be entitled to compensation.
NHS Surrey data breach claims guide
This article provides guidance to victims of an NHS Surrey data breach, explaining how you could be able to claim for your suffering against the organisation responsible. Please continue reading to learn how much compensation you could be entitled to and how to take your first steps towards achieving your payout today.
Whether you’d like some advice on your situation or you’d like to make a claim, our team at Legal Expert could help. To find out more, please get in touch with one of our specialist advisors today, where you’ll receive a free consultation as a courtesy, with no obligation to proceed. With years of experience handling claims, our solicitors can take on your case if they believe they can win it, securing you the compensation you deserve.
- Call 0800 073 8804 for a consultation with one of our specialist advisors about how to claim
- Complete a contact form and we’ll get back to you at your convenience
- Email info@legalexpert.co.uk and start a correspondence with our team
- Use the pop-up on your screen and chat with us live
Select A Section
- A Guide to NHS Surrey Data Breach Claims
- What Is An NHS Surrey Data Breach?
- NHS GDPR Data Breaches
- How Could NHS Hospitals Or Trusts Breach Data Protection Law?
- Examples Of ICO Data Protection Fines Against NHS Surrey
- Do I Have To Go To Court Or Make A Complaint To The ICO?
- How Are Data Breach Compensation Amounts Estimated?
- Calculating GDPR And Data Breach Claims Against NHS Surrey
- No Win No Fee NHS Surrey Data Breach Claims
- How Do I Find A Data Protection Breach Lawyer?
- Contact Our Team About A Medical Data Breach Claim
- Learn More About Medical Compensation Claims
A Guide to NHS Surrey Data Breach Claims
Though we may not realise it, we probably interact with data requests on a daily basis without investigating how it’s used. When online pop-ups appear on our screens asking if we consent to the use of cookies, simply ticking a box allows them to process our data.
In terms of medical data, these permissions can be updated each time we register with a medical centre, make an appointment, speak to a practitioner or receive treatment. This makes our medical records a rich source of personal information, containing our home address to our blood type. Therefore, it’s important that our data is securely protected to ensure such details remain confidential.
If you’ve suffered a medical data breach and believe NHS Surrey’s failings were responsible, this guide can help you understand your rights. From determining whether you have a claim to estimating how much compensation you could be awarded, please continue reading if you’d like to learn more on data breach claims.
If you require further information or would be interested in making a claim, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team at Legal Expert. We can give you a free expert consultation before you begin any legal action and there’s no obligation to proceed. But if you do choose to work with us, you can rest assured that our solicitors will work diligently to secure you the compensation you deserve.
Please note that you have a time limit to make a claim of just 6 years. This time limit is reduced to 1 year if your claim involves a human rights breach, so please bear this information in mind before you continue.
What Is An NHS Surrey Data Breach?
As personal information like your home address, telephone number and bank details can be used to identify you, it could be targeted in a data breach. Whether your data is leaked, destroyed or even accessed without your permission, it can cause you to suffer as a result.
Medical data breaches can be particularly detrimental to your life, especially if sensitive medical details have been seen by an unauthorised party. There are many reasons why this could happen, such as:
- Cyberattacks
- Medical databases are prime targets for cyberattacks due to the range of information provided for each individual patient. This data can then be sold, which results in identity theft in extreme cases.
- Human error
- Medical data breaches can result from human error, meaning those responsible for protecting your data failed to do so. For example, administrative staff may have left your medical records in view of others or sent them to the wrong address.
If you’ve suffered as a result of an NHS Surrey data breach, you could be entitled to compensation providing that their failings can be proved. Our solicitors at Legal Expert have years of experience winning cases for their clients, so why not get in touch today to see how we could help you make a successful claim?
NHS GDPR Data Breaches
In 2018, the EU’s legislation for data protection, referred to as The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), was enacted into UK law. Under The Data Protection Act 2018, data subjects were able to regain a sense of control over the way in which organisations processed their data.
From names and addresses to online browsing activity, consent is now required before your personal information can be processed by organisations. Before this can be done, however, they must ensure they have a sound system of data protection and privacy in place. Any failures of this system must result in any data subject that it could affect being notified within 3 days of the breach occurring.
Here are some other GDPR rules that organisations are now subject to in the UK, including NHS Surrey:
- Data processing must be transparent, lawful and secure (in some cases, data encryption may be required to ensure this)
- Data cannot be retained outside of the timeframe consented to and personal details must be regularly updated within this period
If you believe you’ve fallen victim to a data breach as a result of third-party negligence, our specialist advisors can provide you with a free consultation today to see how much you could claim for your suffering.
How Could NHS Hospitals Or Trusts Breach Data Protection Law?
As mentioned above, hospitals are a common target for data breach hackers and NHS Surrey is no exception. However, it’s also common for human error can result in a data breach, with some examples in a medical setting including:
- Not regularly updating patients’ personal information, meaning sensitive medical details are mistakenly sent to someone else
- Leaving medical records in view of unauthorised third-parties
- Staff inappropriately accessing patients’ personal data without a medical reason
In many cases, patients don’t realise that they’ve fallen victim to a data breach until they’re informed by the organisation. However, they may never realise that their personal information has been compromised if the organisation isn’t aware of the breach. Suspicions may only be raised if cases of robbery, blackmail, identity theft or other such crimes result from the breach.
If you believe you’ve suffered an NHS Surrey data breach as a result of their failings, you could be entitled to compensation providing that you can prove you’ve suffered harm. For free advice and support, please contact our specialist team at Legal Expert today.
Examples Of ICO Data Protection Fines Against NHS Surrey
To help illustrate how an NHS Surrey data breach could occur, it may help to look at past incidents of a similar nature.
In 2013, the ICO issued NHS Surrey with a £200,000 fine for losing the sensitive data of over 3,000 patients. When the organisation outsourced the disposal of old NHS computers and the data destruction of their hard drives, they failed to check that the job had been done properly before selling 43 of the devices on eBay.
As a result of the computers’ hard drives not being properly wiped, those purchasing the devices also obtained patients’ personal information, including their medical records. The ICO deemed this as one of the most severe data breach cases they’d had to investigate, with the scale of patients affected in mind.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23286231
If you believe that NHS Surrey demonstrated a breach of data protection laws and you’ve suffered as a result, our team at Legal Expert can offer you free advice and support. If you want to pursue compensation for any damage caused to you, our solicitors can guide you through the claims process to help secure the compensation you deserve. And they will also how much compensation for a data breach you could feasibly get. To learn more about our services, please speak to one of our specialist advisors today.
Do I Have To Go To Court Or Make A Complaint To The ICO?
If a data breach may have compromised your personal information, the organisation responsible is required to alert you within 3 days of the incident. However, if you wish to make a claim for any suffering this breach may have caused, you’ll require supporting evidence. In this section, we’ll explain the different ways in which you could do this.
Firstly, you could reach out to the organisation responsible for the breach directly. If they respond to your concern, any admission of failure to protect your data could be used to evidence your claim against them.
If no such failures are admitted, you could contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), an independent organisation helping to improve practices in line with GDPR regulations. If you raise your concern with them, they could investigate the breach in question and issue the data processors with a fine if they find that their failings were responsible.
However, if you’d like the ICO to investigate your breach, you must raise your concern with them within 3 months of your last meaningful contact with the firm responsible, or your case may no longer be valid.
It’s also important to note that the ICO does not provide compensation, even if they find the organisation liable for your breach. Instead, their purpose is to help iron-out failures in the data protection system.
If you’d like to make an NHS Surrey data breach compensation claim but aren’t sure how best to proceed, our team at Legal Expert are here to help. Please contact us today to see how our solicitors could successfully secure you the compensation you deserve.
How Are Data Breach Compensation Amounts Estimated?
In valuing an NHS Surrey data breach compensation claim, there are two types of damage to consider: material and non-material damage.
- Material damage accounts for any financial loss you incurred as a result of your data breach. For example, your credit rating may have suffered, or in extreme cases, you may have experienced identity theft.
- Non-material damage accounts for any psychological or psychiatric damage that was caused by the data breach, such as anxiety or trauma.
How much compensation you could receive depends on the extent of your suffering. To help determine this, the overall impact on your life will be assessed by examining features like your relationships, your career and your overall quality of life.
If you’re wondering how much you could be awarded after falling victim to an NHS Surrey data breach, please contact our specialist advisors at Legal Expert for a free consultation today.
Calculating GDPR And Data Breach Claims Against NHS Surrey
This section aims to give you an idea of real settlement amounts awarded to those suffering as a result of a data breach.
In 2015, the case of Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc acted as a source of change for data breach claims. Prior to this case, financial damage was required in order to establish liability against those responsible for a breach. However, the case introduced the basis of claiming solely for psychological damage caused. Therefore, regardless of whether material damages were suffered, non-material damages can be claimed for.
To value compensation for non-material damage, awards are calculated in the same manner as personal injury claims, which rely upon the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for guidance. For examples, please see the table below:
| Type of Suffering | Severity | Compensation Bracket | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Severe | £56,180 to £94,470 | Trauma that impacts all abilities to cope and prevents working or functioning as normal |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Less Severe | Up to £7,680 | Full recovery expected within 1-2 years, with a few on-going effects that are not disabling |
| Psychiatric Damage | Severe | £51,460 to £108,620 | Significant issues with a rather poor prognosis of recovery |
| Psychiatric Damage | Moderate | £5,500 to £17,900 | Marked improvement of issues with a good prognosis for recovery and complete recovery |
To help assess the extent of your suffering caused by the data breach, your solicitor will send you for a medical exam with an independent expert. They’ll produce a report offering their opinion of how you’ve been affected and the overall impact it’s had on your life.
To begin this process and start your NHS Surrey data breach compensation claim today, why not get in touch with our team at Legal Expert? We offer free, quick and easy consultations, so you can see how much personal injury compensation for a data breach is achievable.
No Win No Fee NHS Surrey Data Breach Claims
Making a data breach claim against an organisation like the NHS is a daunting task. The financial risk involved in the claims process can be particularly intimidating, leaving many with no option but to let the compensation they deserve pass them by.
However, here at Legal Expert, our solicitors always work on a No Win No Fee basis. Not only does this allow you to claim with financial peace of mind but it ensures fairness with the following terms:
- You don’t pay your solicitors’ fees if they don’t win your case for you
- You don’t pay any upfront or hidden costs at any point
- We only take your case on if we feel we can win it
In the case that we win your claim, we’ll take a small cut of your compensation known as a ‘success fee’. However, this figure will be clearly outlined in our agreement so there aren’t any surprises you have to deal with. In addition, it’s a legally-capped fee to ensure you don’t have to part with much of your payout.
To see if you’d be eligible to make an NHS Surrey data breach claim, please speak to our specialist advisors today and see how we could help you on a No Win No Fee basis.
How Do I Find A Data Protection Breach Lawyer?
In finding a solicitor to help handle your claim, you can give your case the best chance of success, as well as maximising your compensation payout. However, with the multitude of legal services available across the country, how do you know which one is the best for you?
At Legal Expert, our solicitors can connect with you wherever you’re based, whether that be over the phone, via email or in a face-to-face meeting. With years of experience making successful data breach claims why not choose our team at Legal Expert to help you? And we can also advise on how much compensation for a data breach you could win.
Contact Our Team About A Medical Data Breach Claim
If you’d like to see how our solicitors at Legal Expert could help you make a claim for an NHS Surrey data breach, please reach out to one of our specialist advisors today in one of the ways listed below:
- Call 0800 073 8804 for a consultation with one of our specialist advisors
- Complete a contact form and we’ll get back to you at your convenience
- Email info@legalexpert.co.uk and start a correspondence with our team
- Use the pop-up on your screen and chat with us live
Learn More About Medical Compensation Claims
If you’ve been affected by an NHS Surrey data breach, the links below may provide you with some additional information:
- File a complaint about the NHS
- Provide feedback on NHS services
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Our guide to medical negligence claims
- Time limits to make NHS claims
- Our guide to professional negligence claims
Other Compensation Guides
- Luton Borough Council Data Breach
- Malaysia Airlines Data Breach
- Mansfield District Council Data Breach
- Middlesborough Council Data Breach
- Middlesex University Data Breach
- Morrisons Data Breach Compensation Claims
- Morrisons Pharmacy Data Breach
- Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council Data Breach
- Newman University Data Breach
- GP Data Breach Compensation Claims
- North Lincolnshire Council Data Breach
- Northampton Borough Council Data Breach
- Northumbria University Data Breach
- Norwich University Data Breach
- Npower Data Breach Compensation Claims
- Nuffield Health Data Breach
- Nuneaton and Bedworth Council Data Breach
- Queen Margaret University Data Breach
- Ravensbourne University London Data Breach
- Reading Borough Council Data Breach
- NHS Data Breach Compensation Claims
How Much Compensation For A Data Breach FAQs
Can I get compensation for a data breach?
Yes, so long as you can prove that you’re a victim of a particular data breach.
How much can you claim for data breach?
In most cases, the victim could claim at least £2,000 depending on the severity of the data breach.
What is the maximum fine for a serious data breach?
For a major organisation, the maximum fine could be as high as £17.5 million for a severe data breach.
What to do if you are a victim of a data breach?
You should be aware while initiating a fraud alert and keeping an eye on credit reports and financial accounts. And you should freeze your credit file as well.
What is a data breach?
This is any situation that sees the stealing or unauthorisable obtaining of personal information.
Who is responsible for keeping personal data safe?
More often than not, the DPO would have the responsibility to look after personal data.
What are the 3 main acts when dealing with personal data?
These are having security accountability for integrity and confidentiality, storage limitation and maintaining accuracy.
What are the 6 principles of confidentiality?
These are lawfulness, minimising data, limitations on purpose and storage, accuracy and confidentiality and integrity.
Thank you for reading our guide about how much compensation for a data breach you could receive.
Guide by Mavers
Edited by Billing
