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South Tyneside Council Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

If you’ve been impacted by a data breach at South Tyneside Council you may be here to find information on your legal rights and options. If so, you’ve come to the right place.

In this guide, we look at what you can do in the wake of a South Tyneside Council data breach, and compensation claims specifically. We explain potential payouts and how our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you get the compensation you deserve.

Our advisors offer free legal advice 24/7 and can help with any questions or queries you may have, such as wanting to know if you’re eligible to claim. You can contact us now by:

South Tyneside Council data breach compensation claims

South Tyneside Council data breach claims guide

Select A Section

  1. Claiming Compensation For A South Tyneside Council Data Breach
  2. Does South Tyneside Council Need To Comply With The GDPR?
  3. How Could South Tyneside Council Breach Your Data?
  4. South Tyneside Council Social Services And Data Breaches 
  5. Reporting A Breach Of The UK GDPR
  6. What Can You Claim For After A Data Breach?
  7. How To Calculate Compensation After A Data Breach At South Tyneside Council?
  8. Claim For A Data Breach At South Tyneside Council Through A No Win No Fee Solicitor
  9. Talk To A Solicitor For Free
  10. Learn More About South Tyneside Council Data Breach Compensation Claims

Claiming Compensation For A South Tyneside Council Data Breach

A data breach is a security issue that leads to personal information either accidentally or deliberately being;

  • Lost
  • Destroyed
  • Accessed
  • Or disclosed in an unlawful or unauthorised manner.

In what ways could a data subject be negatively affected by a data breach at South Tyneside Council? Before we answer this question it may be a good idea to describe what is personal data?

Personal data consists of;

  • Name
  • Contact details
  • Credit card details

Any company that is legally allowed to collect personal information needs to be considerate and responsible when using it. To learn more about taking your case to court and claiming compensation, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website or, alternatively, call us using the phone number at the top of this page.

Does South Tyneside Council Need To Comply With The GDPR?

You may wonder what principles have been put in place to ensure that companies keep your information secure. In the UK, companies and organisations’ duty is to adhere to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Data Protection Act 2018 is used to govern how data controllers process personal data. The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc.) Regulations 2020, can be found here.

These regulations are designed to ensure that companies who are responsibly for keeping your personal data safe do so in a way that is aligned with the law. The Information Commissioner’s Office or the ICO as it is more commonly known are a non-departmental public body responsible for enforcing data protection laws. They can also fine data controllers who breach UK-GDPR.

Generally, every data controller needs to comply with GDPR. The ICO has the power to fine organisations that breach personal data however, they do not compensate data subjects who have had their personal data breached.

How Could South Tyneside Council Breach Your Data?

The processing of personal data is a crucial element to how many companies function. This section will provide examples of potential data breaches to give you a better understanding of how these can occur. For example;

  • Sending tenant documents, such as a rent statement, to the incorrect address when they have the correct one on file.
  • Sending financial details to the incorrect email address. This data breach could result in you becoming the victim of identity fraud.
  • Providing someone over the phone with your personal data without passing the necessary GDPR checks.
  • Including identifiable information about you, listing people who have objected to planning permission for a new building.

South Tyneside Council Social Services And Data Breaches 

The council provide the public with many different services. In order for these services to operate personal information may be needed from those that use the services. Personal information held by public bodies has the potential to be breached in the following ways;

  • Issuing child adoption documents to the incorrect address. This child could, for instance, have been rehomed for their own safety, so sending this information to another address can have potentially damaging consequences to their wellbeing.
  • Sending social services documents, such as a confirmation of care letter, to the incorrect address due to a postcode typo.
  • Emailing personal data, such as a rent statement and passport data, to the incorrect address due to a typing error.

If you want to know what data a company has about you, you can send them a subject access request. This can potentially provide information on if any of your personal data has been breached. It can even help you update, amend or potentially remove the information they have on file.

To see if you can claim or if you have any questions or queries, please give our advisors a call 24/7 for free legal advice using the phone number above. It may not always be clear if a data breach has occurred. That is why we offer a free consultation to any potential claimant. During this informal chat, questions can be asked about whether a South Tyneside Council data breach has occurred.

Reporting A Breach Of The UK GDPR

If you suspect a South Tyneside Council data protection breach you can report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Following a breach you can;

  1. Firstly, approach the third party you hold responsible for the data breach. They may provide compensation.
  2. Secondly, if they don’t provide a satisfactory response or a response at all, you can raise a complaint with the ICO.
  3. However, if you do want to complain using the ICO, please contact them within three months from the date of the last meaningful third party contact. This is because they tend not to help with cases where they feel there has been an undue or unnecessary delay.

The ICO can fine the third party for breaching GDPR. It can also issue them with a notice under regular review, meaning that the third party will be monitored regularly to ensure they adhere to the necessary data protection laws. You can seek legal advice at any time to see if you can make a data breach claim. You can even complain for things like a nursery data breach or a third party losing your medical records. Therefore, if you want to see if you can claim, contact us 24/7 at a time that works for you.

What Can You Claim For After A Data Breach?

If you make a successful data breach claim against a third party, there are two potential heads of claim. They are:

  • Material Damage – This relates to financial losses suffered due to the mishandling of your data. This can either be losses you’ve already experienced or potential ones in the future. Identity and financial theft can be caused as a direct result of the breach.
  • Non-Material Damage – This instead relates to the psychological impact of the data breach, meaning you could claim for things like emotional distress. After all, the loss of privacy can be a very difficult thing to deal with, depending on the nature of the information that has been exposed.

The amount you could receive depends on the extent of the breach and the sensitivity of the information.

How To Calculate Compensation After A Data Breach At South Tyneside Council?

Unlike previously, you can now claim for non-material damages, such as anxiety caused by the data breach, without having suffered any financial losses. This is the case after the Court of Appeal ruled in this favour of Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc [2015]. Regarding how much you could receive, the Court of Appeal ruled in Gulati and others v MGN Ltd [2015] that the amount for non-material damages needed to be the same as what you could receive for the same type of injury in a personal injury claim.

This is why the JCG is important regarding these types of claims. They provide previous cases injury values. Therefore below you will find a list of potential psychological injuries and their relevant compensation bracket.

Edit
Type of Injury Amount of Compensation Description
General Psychiatric Damage Up to £108,620 The injured person will have significant problems, seriously affecting their ability to handle everyday aspects of life. The severity of them will mean that their prognosis will be very poor.
General Psychiatric Damage Up to £51,460 There will still be life-altering issues affecting the injured person’s ability to handle life, such as work and education. However, the prognosis will be better than the above bracket.
General Psychiatric Damage Up to £17,900 The injured person’s condition will be a significant improvement to the bracket above. Due to this, professional help should help them cope with everyday activities and, as such, the prognosis will be more positive.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Up to £94,470 Cases in this bracket result in prolonged effects preventing the person from functioning anywhere near the level before the incident. Every aspect of their life is significantly affected. This includes their ability to work and communicate.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Up to £56,180 The amount received in this bracket depends on their response to professional care. However, a large degree of disability will still be expected in the immediate future.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Up to £21,730 In this instance, the prognosis will be more positive, with the injured person having made significant progress in their recovery. Any continuous symptoms still being experienced will not be particularly disabling.

If you’d like a more accurate estimate of what you could receive, please give us a call! Whether it’s due to a data breach by a local council or a comparison site, call us 24/7 using the phone number at the top of this page.

Claim For A Data Breach At South Tyneside Council Through A No Win No Fee Solicitor

You may be wondering, “What are the benefits to using a No Win No Fee solicitor?” They are that:

  • Your solicitor will not request legal fees, either upfront or during the claims process.
  • Instead, they will take a small, capped portion of your compensation as payment once your claim has been successful.
  • Your solicitor will also not request legal fees from you if your claim isn’t successful, hence why they are called “No Win No Fee.”

Talk To A Solicitor For Free

Our No Win No Fee solicitors mean that you won’t have to worry about paying legal fees upfront. Their years of expertise means that they will be able to help you receive compensation if you’re eligible to claim. Our advisors offer free advice so, if you have any questions or queries, contact them today using the details below.

Learn More About South Tyneside Council Data Breach Compensation Claims

For more useful information, please click on the links below.

To learn more about the ICO, visit their website.

Want to be more aware of what personal data companies collect? If so, click here.

Visit the Government website to understand more about making a data breach complaint.

Suffered from a data breach caused by a health and safety issue? If so, click here.

To see if you can claim for a data breach caused by Uber, visit our website.

If an estate agent caused a data breach and you want to see if you can claim, visit this webpage.

Other Useful Compensation Guides

Below, you can find some more guides on data breach claims that you may find useful:

If you need any more advice on making a South Tyneside Council data breach compensation claim, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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    • Patrick Mallon

      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.