Birmingham Data Breach Solicitors – Expert Claims Support
Our Data breach solicitors for Birmingham could help you receive compensation if you’ve been harmed by a data breach. If you suffered harm because of a breach of personal data caused by the failings of the organisation that held your data, you could be entitled to claim.
Data breach solicitors for Birmingham
Personal information is retained and used by many organisations and companies for a variety of reasons. There are a number of pieces of legislation that have been introduced over the years to protect the personal data of members of the public.
In 2018, the General Data Protection Regulations were introduced in the European Union. In the same year, the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) ratified this into UK law. With the UK leaving the EU, the DPA has been updated and the UK GDPR introduced; this is what we now refer to when talking about data protection in the UK.
If you’d like to know more about your eligibility to claim, why not speak to an advisor today? You can get in touch by:
- Calling our team on 0800 073 8804
- Email or write to us via our website
- Use the ‘live support’ option for instant advice
Select a Section
- What Is A Data Breach?
- How Do Human Error Data Breaches Happen?
- How Common Are Data Breaches?
- Do I Need A Data Breach Solicitor To Make A Claim?
- Data Breach Compensation Examples
- Data Breach Solicitors – No Win No Fee Solicitors Birmingham
- Getting Help From Data Breach Solicitors For Birmingham
- More Information About Data Breach Solicitors For Birmingham
What Is A Data Breach?
A data breach is when your personal information is lost, destroyed, altered or subject to unauthorised access or disclosure as a result of a security incident. “Personal data” is data that can be used to identify you, either in isolation or when combined with other information.
In order for you to make a claim for compensation, you need to show that your circumstances meet the following criteria:
- That the breach came about because of positive wrongful conduct on the part of the organisation processing the data; and
- That the breach caused you some kind of harm. This harm can be material (for example, a loss of money or an impact on your credit score) or non-material (for example, an impact on your mental health or any emotional harm you’ve experienced).
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent body in the UK set up to uphold information rights for members of the public. While they cannot award you compensation for a data breach, they can investigate breaches and fine organisations that are not compliant.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how data breach solicitors for Birmingham could help you, speak to a member of our team today. One of our advisors could offer you free legal advice and, if your claim has a good chance of success, connect you with a solicitor.
How Do Human Error Data Breaches Happen?
There is a wide range of different reasons that an organisation might hold your personal data. For example, your doctor’s surgery will hold your medical records. If you make use of Social Services, they might need to process your personal data in order to provide you with their services.
The impact that a data breach can have on you could be severe. For example, it might allow someone to access your bank account or credit card information. This could cause you to lose money or impact your credit score.
Human error data breach
Data breaches can happen as a result of human error. Some examples of how a human error data breach could occur include:
- Emails that are sent to the wrong recipient. This could happen as a result of a spelling mistake or the incorrect domain name being used. As a result, personal data could be viewed by someone who isn’t authorised to do so.
- Personal data that is posted or faxed to the wrong person. This could happen if an organisation failed to update your postal address when you moved house. However, you would not be able to claim if your personal data was sent to the wrong address because you failed to update the organisation with your new address.
- A failure to redact information.
- A failure to use BCC in emails. BCC (blind carbon copy) allows an email to be forwarded on to someone without them seeing the rest of the recipients of the email. If this is not done, it could mean that someone who isn’t authorised to have access to an email address does.
- Loss or theft of paperwork. A data breach could include someone leaving a briefcase containing personal data on a bench in a park. Alternatively, personal data could be left loose on desks around the office instead of locked in a filing cabinet.
- Incorrect disposal of paperwork or hardware containing personal data. Paperwork or hardware containing personal data should not be put in a general waste bit, but instead should be securely disposed of. Failure to do this could result in the data being exposed.
How Common Are Data Breaches?
The ICO has released information about the data security incidents that have been reported to them in relation to data breaches. It shows that:
- A total of 251 data security incidents affected local government from 01/07/2021 – 30/09/2021
- The most common non-cyber cause of a data incident in local government in this time frame was “failure to redact” with 42 incidents.
- There were 32 instances of data being emailed to the wrong person and 28 instances of data being posted or faxed to the incorrect recipient.
These statistics don’t relate specifically to data breaches that happened in Birmingham. However, we do have an example of a potential data breach that did occur in the city.
Earlier this year, Birmingham City Council saw a possible online data breach occur. Allegedly the details of “vulnerable children” who were entitled to free bus passes were uploaded by staff ”in error” and may have been available to those outside the council.
The ICO was informed. However, they decided not to take any action against the council.
Source: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/details-vulnerable-kids-uploaded-birmingham-20217314
Data Breach Claim – Do I Need A Data Breach Solicitor To Make A Claim?
After being affected by a data breach, you may be looking for data breach solicitors in Birmingham. While it’s not a legal requirement, having a solicitor work on your behalf may help you navigate the data breach claim process more easily.
The steps you can take in making a data breach claim might include the below:
- Finding out a data breach has occurred. You might come to this realisation yourself, or you could be advised by the data controller that a breach has occurred. If you find out about the breach yourself, you should get in touch with the data controller. They may be able to tell you what data has been exposed.
- Communicating with the organisation about the breach. The data controller might try to resolve the issue with you directly. They could offer you compensation; you’re able to accept or reject this, but if you accept it you cannot make a claim for further compensation.
- Approach the ICO. You can get in touch with the ICO within three months of your last meaningful communication with the organisation. They can investigate the breach, but cannot award you compensation.
- Seek legal advice. Whether or not you choose to speak with the ICO, you could make a claim.
If you’d like to know more about how data breach solicitors for Birmingham could help you pursue compensation for harm caused by a data breach, speak with us today. Otherwise, read on for more information on your eligibility to claim.
Data Breach Compensation Examples
In this section, we aim to answer the question, “how much compensation can you get for a breach of GDPR?”. Data breach compensation amounts in the UK can be made up of two different damages. These are referred to as material and non-material.
Material damages relate to the financial harm that the data breach has caused you. For instance, if you’ve lost money or had your credit score impacted, this could be considered under material damages.
You could also be awarded non-material damages. This is the part of your compensation that covers any psychological or emotional impact caused by the breach.
Data breach claims are distinct from personal injury claims. However, the case of Gulati & Others vs. MGN Ltd [2015] held that non-material damages for data breach claims can be valued in the same way as in personal injury claims. This means that the Judicial College guidelines can be used to help value claims.
Below, we have included a table containing compensation brackets from the JCG, which serve as data breach compensation examples for emotional damage.
| Injury | Severity | How much? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Disorder (reactive) | Severe | £56,180 to £94,470 | If your symptoms fall within this bracket, you will be affected permanently by your injuries and be prevented from working, or functioning at the same level as you did pre-trauma |
| Psychiatric Disorder (reactive) | Moderately severe | £21,730 to £56,180 | Although the symptoms of this kind of damage will be similar to above, there will be a better prognosis for recovery with some professional help. |
| Psychiatric Disorder (reactive) | Moderate | £7,680 to £21,730 | If your symptoms fall within this level, you will be unlikely to experience grossly disabling ongoing effects. |
| Psychiatric Disorder (reactive) | Less severe | £3,710 to £7,680 | As a result of a data breach, the affected person will have marked problems however a full recovery is expected. |
| Psychological injury/damage | Severe | £51,460 to £108,620 | As a result of a data breach, the injured person will have marked problems relating to things like relationships with others and ability to cope with things like life and education. The prognosis will be very poor. |
| Psychological injury/damage | Moderately severe | £17,900 to £51,460 | While the injured person will have significant problems relating to things like relationships with others and ability to cope with things like life and education because of the breach, the prognosis will be better than in the above category. |
| Psychological injury/damage | Moderate | £5,500 to £17,900 | While the affected person will have some of the sort of problems related to the factors listed above, there will be marked improvement and a good prognosis. |
| Psychological injury/damage | Less severe | Up to £5,500 | Injuries in this level will be valued based on things like how much the breach affected your sleep and daily activities if you were harmed by a breach. |
You may be looking for data breach solicitors in Birmingham to represent you in your claim. Read on for more information about why a solicitor anywhere in the country could also be an option. Speak with a member of our team today and they could connect you with a No Win No Fee lawyer.
Data Breach Solicitors – No Win No Fee Solicitors Birmingham
If you’ve decided to search for data breach solicitors, you may be concerned at the prospect of paying high legal fees with no guarantee of receiving compensation. A No Win No Fee solicitor could be a solution to this.
A No Win No Fee agreement (sometimes called a Conditional Fee Agreement) could help. It means that there’s nothing you pay your solicitor upfront or while the claim progresses. They also won’t ask you to pay if your claim is unsuccessful.
In the event of a successful claim, your lawyer will deduct a “success fee” from your compensation. This is legally capped, ensuring that you always get the majority of the compensation you’re awarded.
A data breach solicitor will, therefore, only take on your claim if it has a reasonably good chance of success. They’ll have to confirm that a data breach happened, that it was caused by positive wrongful conduct on the part of the organisation processing the data, and that you experienced harm as a result.
For more information on whether data breach solicitors for Birmingham can represent you on a No Win No Fee basis, speak to our team of advisors today.
Getting Help From Data Breach Solicitors For Birmingham
We hope that this guide has helped. At Legal Expert, we could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor to work on your claim.
It’s no longer necessary for you to seek out data breach solicitors in Birmingham in order to get legal representation. Because of the internet, it’s now possible to be represented by a solicitor that isn’t located in your area.
Legal Expert could help you pursue data breach compensation. You can check out our review page to see how we’ve helped other clients in the past. You can also get in touch by:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Using our live chat feature
- Filling out our contact form
More Information About Birmingham Data Breach
Birmingham data protection breach issues can happen in a wide variety of different areas from schools, colleges, banks, local authorities and private consumer outlets. With this in mind, below is more guidance on the steps you could take after a data breach in various scenarios:
- Data breach compensation claims against banks
- Claiming after a Travelodge data breach
- What to do if a Well Pharmacy data breach occurs
- Data breach guidance from the government
- How to be more cyber aware and improve online safety
- Raising a concern with the ICO about the use of your data
Thank you for reading our guide about how data breach solicitors for Birmingham could help you.
Written by Waters
Edited by Stocks
