Derby Data Breach Solicitors – Expert Claims Support
Data breach solicitors for Derby compensation claims could be what you are looking for if your data privacy has been breached. If you have suffered financially or psychologically following a personal data breach, a solicitor could help you to claim compensation.
As you may be aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced while the UK was part of the EU. It was enacted by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). After Brexit happened, the DPA was amended and the UK GDPR was introduced. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) polices both of these laws to try and ensure personal data is kept safe. While they can fine organisations who break these laws, they can’t help you claim data breach compensation. Therefore, this guide has been compiled to help you take action yourself.
Data breach solicitors for Derby
We are able to help if you decide to start a claim. Our advisors will review the basis of your claim during a no-obligation telephone consultation. They’ll provide free advice and explain whether you could claim for a psychological injury or financial loss caused by the incident. If your claim appears to be strong enough, they could connect you with one of our data breach solicitors. They can make your claim a lot less stressful because they offer a No Win No Fee service for all cases that are accepted.
If you want to begin a claim right away, please call us today on 0800 073 8804. If you’d like more information about your rights for a Derby data breach claim before you call, please read the rest of this guide.
Select a Section
- A Guide To Data Breach Solicitors For Derby Claims
- What Is Classed As A Data Breach?
- What Happens When There Is A Data Breach?
- How Many Data Breaches Happen Every Day?
- What To Do If There Is A Data Breach
- Can I Be Compensated For A Data Breach?
- Work With A No Win No Fee Data Protection Solicitor Covering Derby
- Get Help From A Data Breach Solicitor Covering Your Area
- More Help From Data Breach Solicitors For Derby Area Claims
A Guide To Data Breach Solicitors For Derby Claims
We want to show you how you could use our data breach solicitors for your Derby claim. Therefore, in this guide, we’ll show you how data breaches can cause you to suffer. We’ll also look at what can cause a data breach and how much compensation could be awarded.
The two main elements of any data breach claim are financial losses and mental harm. That means that you could claim if you suffered due to stress as a result of a breach. Additionally, you could claim back any financial losses, costs or expenses.
However, we must state that not every data breach victim can make a claim. The onus is on you, the claimant, to prove that those who were trusted with your personal information failed to keep it as safe as possible.
Before we move on, let’s define some key data breach terms that we’ll use within this guide:
- The data subject is an individual whose personal data is going to be processed.
- Data controllers are organisations that would like to process information about a data subject.
- Personal data mean any information that might help to identify the data subject.
- Data processors carry out data processing on behalf of the data controller.
As part of an initial consultation, we can check whether you’re eligible to claim. If you have any questions as you read this guide, please feel free to use our live chat system or call our free advice line.
What Is Classed As A Data Breach?
OK, now we’re going to move on and look at what data breaches are. ICO documentation explains that they result from security incidents where personal data is accidentally, deliberately or unlawfully disclosed, accessed, changed, destroyed or lost.
If you would like to make a claim for a GDPR data breach, you’ll need to show that the incident happened because of the actions of a data controller or processor. Remember, the action doesn’t need to be deliberate. However, it must have allowed the breach to occur.
For example, if a store cupboard was left unlocked and a laptop containing personal data was stolen, a claim might be possible. On the flip side, if the company shows that they did everything in their power to keep your information safe, the claim could not proceed.
As well as proving liability for the breach, you must show how the incident caused you to suffer. For example, you could provide medical notes from your doctor to show you suffered a psychological injury. Similarly, bank statements could be used to prove financial loss.
What Happens When There Is A Data Breach?
If you think of data breaches, you might think of massive cyberattacks against large organisations. In reality, though, many are down to human error where staff fail to follow the rules of the GDPR. Some examples of how data breaches can occur include:
- Sending emails or letters to the wrong recipient.
- Leaving laptops or memory sticks that contain personal data on a train.
- Failing to shred documents that contain personal records before disposal.
- Disclosing information about a data subject to an unauthorised party.
- Publishing unredacted personal data online.
- Where a portable device containing personal data is stolen from an unlocked vehicle.
- If a computer screen is viewable from a public area and shows personal information.
As stated above, the scenarios above would only entitle you to data breach compensation if they caused you to suffer mental harm and/or financial losses.
How Many Data Breaches Happen Every Day?
In this section, we want to highlight just how common data security incidents are. One of the important factors regarding the UK GDPR is that any data breach that affects your rights must be reported to the ICO. They keep a record in each quarter of security incidents by type and by sector.
Our graph below focuses on non-cyber security incidents. These were reported to the ICO in the period 1st July to 30th September 2021.
As you can see, many of the scenarios we listed in the previous section were reported. The most common incident was where data was emailed to the wrong person. Unauthorised access was also reported a lot during the reporting period.
To be clear, these incidents won’t automatically allow you to seek damages. The organisation you claim against must have done something that allowed a personal data breach to happen.
What To Do If There Is A Data Breach
If you have been harmed by a GDPR data breach, you will need some form of evidence if you’d like to claim. You might be surprised to hear that if a company finds out about a breach that affects your rights, they have to write to you to tell you about it. The letter you’re sent could be crucial evidence that helps prove what happened. Therefore, you should keep a copy safe.
However, there are times when you might suspect a breach has happened but not be told about it. In these cases, you could:
- Complain formally to the company. Explain that you suspect your personal data has been exposed by a breach that they were responsible for.
- If they deny the breach or you’re not happy with their response, escalate your complaint higher.
- Where a resolution can’t be found, you could ask the ICO to conduct an investigation. This should be done before 3-months have passed since you last heard back from the company involved.
At any point, you can contact us for free legal advice. We could appoint one of our data breach solicitors for your Derby claim. Even without an ICO investigation report, they may be able to negotiate a settlement directly with the organisation involved. Where liability is admitted quickly, the claim could be settled in around 6 to 9 months.
Can I Be Compensated For A Data Breach?
There are two types of damages that can be sought during data breach claims. They are:
- Material damages. Here the claim will focus on monetary losses. This could include expenses, costs or even money that’s been stolen from you because of the breach.
- Non-material damages. This element of the claim is based on whether you’ve suffered a psychological injury because of the breach. Depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) could all be considered here.
The compensation table below highlights what amount could be paid for non-material damages. It contains compensation ranges for several relevant injuries. The values are from the Judicial College Guidelines. The same guidelines are applied by legal professionals when settling claims.
| Injury | Severity | Settlement Bracket | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | Severe (a) | £56,180 to £94,470 | As a result of symptoms that may be permanent, the claimant will not function as they used to before the incident. Furthermore, a return to work will be unlikely. |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £21,730 to £56,180 | Serious suffering that occurs initially may be reduced with the help of specialists. | |
| Moderate (c) | £7,680 to £21,730 | The claimant will almost be fully recovered from their PTSD Symptoms | |
| Psychiatric Damage / Mental Harm | Based on: A) The ability to cope with work and life in general; B) Relationship problems; C) If treatment might help; D) Future vulnerability; E) Medical Prognosis. | ||
| Severe (a) | £51,460 to £108,620 | A very poor prognosis. Serious problems with factors A-D | |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £17,900 to £51,460 | A more optimistic prognosis. Significant problems with all factors initially though. | |
| Moderate (c) | £5,500 to £17,900 | The claimant will have recovered well already and have a good prognosis. |
As you can see, the severity of your injuries plays a large part in how much compensation is awarded. Therefore, you may need a medical assessment as part of the claims process. It will be conducted by an independent medical expert. During your meeting, the specialist will ask questions about how you’ve been affected. After they’ve finished, a report outlining your prognosis will be forwarded to the parties involved in your claim.
Work With A No Win No Fee Data Protection Solicitor Covering Derby
You shouldn’t be put off from claiming because you’re worried about solicitors’ fees. It is not compulsory to have a solicitor represent your case. However, our data breach solicitors for Derby claims could provide a No Win No Fee service. If your claim is accepted, that means you won’t need to pay for your solicitor’s work unless you are paid compensation. As a result, the claims process will be a lot less stressful.
Before your case can be taken on, your solicitor will need to confirm that:
- Your personal data has been compromised by a data breach; and
- The organisation responsible for your data did something that allowed the breach to happen; and
- As a direct result of the incident, you suffered psychologically and/or financially.
They will also need to check that your claim is being made within the applicable time limit. For some data breach claims, this is a 6-year period. However, some only have 1-year to be started. Therefore, we’d advise you to begin your claim as soon as possible.
If the solicitor agrees to represent you, they’ll send you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is the type of No Win No Fee agreement they use to fund their work. The CFA will make it clear what needs to be achieved before you need to pay for your solicitor’s work.
It will also explain that you’ll pay a success fee if your claim is won. This is a fixed percentage of any compensation you are paid. Legally, when using a CFA, this is capped at 25% of your settlement amount.
If you’d like to check whether your claim is suitable for a No Win No Fee service, please get in touch.
Get Help From A Data Breach Solicitor Covering Your Area
We hope this guide on choosing data breach solicitors for Derby claims has helped. If you’d like to take action and would like us to help, you can:
- Call our advice centre on 0800 073 8804.
- Email us at info@legalexpert.co.uk to tell us about your claim.
- Ask for a call back using this enquiry form.
- Connect to live chat to ask any questions.
Our reviews page might be helpful if you’d like to know what previous clients thought about our service.
More Help From Data Breach Solicitors For Derby Area Claims
What Would You Do If A University Of Derby Data Breach Occurred? – Information on claiming if you’ve suffered due to a data breach by a university.
If You Suspected A Derby City Council Data Breach What Action Would You Take? – A similar guide on claiming against a local authority.
Employer Data Breaches – Guidance on claiming against an employer following a data breach.
Objecting To Data Use – Information about when you can object to your personal data being used.
PTSD Overview – Information from the NHS about how PTSD is identified and treated.
Raising Concerns – Advice on how to tell a company you’re concerned about the way they’re using your data.
Thanks for reading our guide about how to select data breach solicitors for Derby claims.
Guide By Hambridge
Edited By Melissa.
