North Tyneside Data Breach Solicitors – Expert Claims Support
We produced this guide to provide information on when and how you could employ the services of data breach solicitors for North Tyneside to claim compensation. You will find valuable information on what criteria must be met, and advice on the sort of damages you could get if your case is successful.
Data breach solicitors for North Tyneside
Moreover, we explain how you can use specialist solicitors to act on your behalf. You can be represented by a data breach solicitor no matter where they are located in the country.
The laws related to data protection are the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the authority that enforces data protection law and which has the power to issue fines to organisations who breach it. However, the ICO does not deal with data breach claims. Nor does the authority award compensation to victims of a breach.
To claim data breach compensation for mental harm and financial losses, you must prove that your data was not protected correctly. At Legal Expert, we provide you with legal advice in a no-obligation call which is free of charge.
When we find you have grounds to sue, we can connect you to one of our specialist data breach solicitors. If your case is accepted on a No Win No Fee basis, you won’t have to worry about paying upfront fees.
Get in touch today
To speak to a member of the Legal Expert team, please call us on 0800 073 8804. If you would like to continue reading our guide first, please do so by clicking on the sections that follow.
Select a Section
- A Guide To Data Breach Solicitors For North Tyneside
- What Are Data Breaches?
- What Is The Cause Of The Majority Of Data Breaches?
- How Many People Are Impacted By Data Breaches?
- My Data Privacy Has Been Breached, How Could A Solicitor Help Me?
- Examples Of Data Breach Payouts
- Should I Claim With No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors For North Tyneside?
- Discuss Your Case With Data Breach Solicitors For North Tyneside
- Related Data Breach Solicitor Resources
A Guide To Data Breach Solicitors For North Tyneside
We thought it would be useful if we started off by explaining some terms that you may have come across but are not entirely sure about. We have listed a few terms below:
- Personal data – information that could directly or indirectly identify a data subject
- Data subject – an identifiable natural person who is a living person and one who can be directly or indirectly be identified
- Data controller – UK GDPR defines data controllers as those who determine how and why personal data is processed. In short, data controllers decide how the information they gather is processed. A data controller may employ the services of a data processor.
- Data processor – a body that processes data on behalf of a controller.
You could be entitled to claim data breach compensation for a variety of reasons which could include any of the following:
- Council data breach
- Bank data breach
- Employer data breach
However, to hold the correct foundation for a data breach claim it is not enough to be the victim of a data breach, liability must be proven. Therefore those you hold responsible for allowing the breach to happen must-have in a way failed to take the necessary steps to keep this data secure.
Our guide offers advice on when you could employ the services of one of our data breach solicitors for North Tyneside claims. Firstly, we need to establish the sort of harm and damage a data breach could cause you. We will go into how a breach in data security could happen before offering you an idea on the sort of data breach compensation that could be paid out.
Proving Liability for a Data Breach Claim
There are specific things you need to prove in order to make a successful data breach claim which are:
- Firstly, the person responsible (alleged defendant) did not protect your data properly.
- Secondly, the data breach caused you harm whether monetary losses, mental harm (or both)
Do you need more advice? A member of our team can answer any questions you have about using the services of data breach solicitors for North Tyneside claims.
What Are Data Breaches?
According to advice provided by the ICO, personal data breaches are defined as being incidents where personal data is disclosed, destroyed, accessed, lost or altered whether unlawfully, accidentally, or deliberately in a breach of data security. If your data was compromised due to any of these reasons, why not call our team for advice. If they can see your claim is valid they could connect you to data breach solicitors for North Tyneside to claim compensation.
However, if the data controller set in place all necessary precautions to protect your personal data, a claim for data breach compensation may not be possible. But, if the responsible party failed to do something or they did something that caused a data breach, your claim may be valid. That said, you would also have to prove the breach caused you to suffer.
To find out whether you have grounds to sue and whether you could employ the services of data breach solicitors for your North Tyneside claim, please call today. We offer free legal advice and a member of our team can let you know if your claim may be valid or not.
What Is The Cause Of The Majority Of Data Breaches?
The majority of data breaches are caused by human error. However, a breach in data security may occur accidentally, deliberately, or maliciously. That said, we have listed potential scenarios below that could constitute a personal data breach;
- A local authority posts out letters that contain your personal data to the wrong recipient, in this example you may be eligible to make a council data breach claim.
- Your employer or work colleague sends out a group email but fails to use the BCC field.
- A lost or stolen laptop that is not password protected falls into the wrong hands could lead to a lost device data breach claim.
- A work colleague accesses a database and gets hold of your personal contact information without a lawful basis.
- Your details are visible on a computer screen in a public area.
- Your medical details are accessed without consent or a lawful basis which could lead to a medical records data breach claim being filed.
How Many People Are Impacted By Data Breaches?
Organisations (data controllers) are obliged to inform the ICO when there is a notifiable breach in data security, and must do so no later than 72-hours after an incident occurs.
The Information Commissioner collates all the reports which are then published quarterly. The table below provides information on data security incidents that were reported to the ICO which covers the second quarter for the 2021/2022 financial year.
To find out whether you have good cause to claim, please reach out to a member of the Legal Expert team today.
My Data Privacy Has Been Breached, How Could A Solicitor Help Me?
Although you are not obliged to employ the services of a solicitor to make a data breach claim, having their expert advice could be beneficial to your case. Data breach claims tend to be complex and proving liability can be challenging at best.
When you have a specialist solicitor acting for you, these challenges are less of a concern. Furthermore, as previously mentioned you don’t have to use a firm of solicitor local to you because all communication can be done over the phone, via webchats, and video conferencing. As such, you could use the services of our data breach solicitors for North Tyneside claims.
If you decide to file a claim for compensation, there are things you must be able to prove and you must gather adequate evidence to support your case. You should, therefore:
- Ask the organisation concerned whether a data breach affected your ‘rights and freedoms”? The organisation must tell you about a breach without any undue delay. The correspondence you receive from them could be part of the evidence that supports your case.
- ICO recommends writing a formal letter to the organisation to raise your concerns. When an organisation provides confirmation of a breach in data security, their response could be vital evidence.
- Send a request to the ICO to launch an investigation. This must be done within 3 months of the last ‘meaningful’ response you received from the organisation concerned.
To find out if you could employ the services of data breach solicitors for North Tyneside claims, please contact a member of our team today.
Examples Of Data Breach Payouts
When you make a successful data breach claim for compensation, you could be entitled to material and non-material damages.
- Material damages – awarded to cover your financial losses caused by the data breach.
- Non-material damages – awarded to cover psychological harm suffered due to a data breach. An example is you could make a PTSD claim, or you could claim for distress and anxiety caused by the breach.
The table below provides an idea of the compensation awarded for specific mental harm in personal injury cases which can now be applied to data breach claims. The amounts shown in our table are taken from the Judicial College guidelines which courts and legal professionals refer to when valuing injuries.
| Harm/damage suffered | Seriousness | Non-material damages (Judicial College Guidelines) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental harm/damage | Moderately severe mental harm | £17,900 – £51,460 | The claimant’s future life is affected and symptoms may may be permanent. |
| Mental harm/damage | Less severe | Up to £5,500 | The claimant experiences minor psychiatric harm but is expected to recover |
| Mental harm/damage | Severe | £51,460 – £108,620 | The claimant experiences severe psychiatric harm which affects every aspect of their life. |
| Mental harm/damage | Moderate | £5,500 – £17,900 | The claimant experiences moderate psychiatric harm which may negatively impact their life but prognosis is good. |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Less Severe | £3,710 to £7,680 | The claimant is expected to make a full recovery in about 2 years. |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Moderate | £7,680 to £21,730 | The claimant suffers moderate symptoms of PTSD, but is expected to recover over time |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Moderately Severe | £21,730 to £56,180 | The claimant experiences moderate to severe symptoms but with therapy and treatment are expected to make progress with some recovery in the future. |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Very Severe | £56,180 to £94,470 | The claimant experiences extremely serious symptoms that negatively affects their ability to work and relationships with people are also affected. |
Your non-material compensation payout is based on the severity of your injuries. As such, you may need a medical assessment carried out by an independent specialist.
This is where Legal Expert can be of assistance. An appointment with a local medical specialist can be arranged for you. The specialist may also need to see your medical records before they assess how the breach has affected you. The specialist will provide a detailed medical report which includes your prognosis.
Should I Claim With No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors For North Tyneside?
You may be worried about the cost of hiring a specialist solicitor to file your data breach claim. However, there is an option available to you. This is to contact one of our data breach solicitors who could offer you No Win No Fee terms. In short, you won’t pay the solicitor until you receive data breach compensation. If your claim fails, you won’t pay the solicitor their success fee. However, before a solicitor will take on your claim, they will need to establish the following:
- That a personal data breach occurred.
- The breach in data security happened due to something the responsible party did or did not do.
- As a result of the breach, you suffered psychological harm, or monetary losses (or both)
The solicitor who takes on your case will also check whether the statutory time limit is still valid. The time limit could be 1 year or 6 years. However, it depends on the data controller. As such, you should contact one of our advisers to check whether you still have time to sue for damages.
If a solicitor accepts your case, they will send you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to sign. It sets out the Terms and Conditions which includes how much you pay when you win a claim. This will be a legally capped percentage of the amount you receive.
Discuss Your Case With Data Breach Solicitors For North Tyneside
For more information about data breach solicitors for North Tyneside claims, please reach out to a member of our team today. You can contact us in several ways which include:
- By calling an adviser on 0800 073 8804
- Completing our online claims form
- Using our Live Chat
- Emailing us at info@legalexpert.co.uk
All calls are free of charge and lines are open 24/7. This means you can reach us when it is the most convenient for you.
Other Data Protection Resources
Claiming Compensation For Employer Data Breaches
Raising A Concern With The ICO
Reporting A Breach In Data Security
Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on data breach solicitors for North Tyneside. If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact our team.
