Salford Data Breach Solicitors – Expert Claims Support
This guide will explain how data breach solicitors for Salford can help you make a data breach claim. A data breach is when a security incident results in your personal data being exposed.
You may have experienced acute stress or other forms of financial harm following a data breach. What’s more, if your data is exposed, criminals can use your data to target you, for example, in a phishing scam. Therefore, you could lose money as the result of a data breach.
Data breach solicitors for Salford guide
Legal Expert can help you if you wish to claim compensation for a data breach in Salford. They can assess your claim with no obligation to proceed and can also let you know how much you could be entitled to.
To begin your data breach claim, please get in touch with Legal Expert today. Call our claims helpline on 0800 073 8804 to discuss your claim with an advisor. Alternatively, you can get in touch via our website or use the live chat feature to the bottom-right of this screen.
Select A Section
- Overview Of Data Breach Solicitors For Salford
- What Is A Data Protection Breach?
- What Is A Common Cause Of Data Breaches Incidents?
- How Often Do Data Breaches Happen?
- How Do You Pursue A Data Protection Breach Claim?
- Calculating Data Breach Compensation Amounts
- Work With A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor Who Covers The Salford Area
- Speak To An Expert Claims Solicitor Covering Your Area
- Learn More About Claiming With Data Breach Solicitors Who Cover Salford
Overview Of Data Breach Solicitors For Salford
Organisations, including councils, universities or private companies, need to collect personal data. They collect, hold and process personal data for a wide range of reasons.
There is legislation in place to protect your personal data, however. In 2018, a piece of EU legislation called the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) was introduced. In the same year, this was ratified into UK law with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). An updated version of the DPA now sits alongside the UK GDPR; this is the regime that we refer to in relation to the protection of personal data since the UK has left the EU.
If you have experienced harm because of a data breach, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Legal Expert can connect you with a skilled data breach solicitor for Salford to handle your compensation claim. Simply get in touch at a time that suits you.
Is There A Data Breach Claims Time Limit?
Under the Limitation Act 1980, there is generally a six-year time limit to start a data breach claim. However, please note that if the claim is being made against a public body, a one-year time limit applies.
If you’re unsure about what time limit applies to your specific circumstances, why not contact one of our advisors for free legal advice? In addition to receiving advice, you could be connected to a solicitor who can work on your case on a No Win No Fee basis if you have a valid claim.
What Is A Data Protection Breach
As we have mentioned, organisations often need to collect personal data to operate. A data breach is when a security incident happens which causes personal data to be exposed.
A breach of personal data involves personal data being accidentally or unlawfully lost, destroyed or altered. It also includes personal data being disclosed to or accessed by someone without authorisation.
An organisation must have a lawful basis to process your data. There are six lawful bases as specified by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This is an authority set up to protect the data rights of individuals in the public interest.
It’s important to note that you can only make a claim if you can prove that positive wrongful conduct on the part of the organisation led to the breach happening. If an organisation did everything they could to prevent a breach from occurring, but one happened despite this, you would not be able to claim.
If you’ve been affected by a data breach, you might think that you need to look online for “data breach solicitors in Salford”. However, this isn’t the case. Legal Expert’s solicitors’ service extends nationwide. What’s more, they can handle your claim without needing to meet you in person.
What Is A Common Cause Of Data Breaches Incidents?
Below, we’ve included some potential causes of data breaches:
- An email containing personal data was sent to the wrong email address. The person who receives the email does not have the authorisation to view this data.
- A device containing personal data is stolen because adequate security measures were not put in place to protect it.
- An organisation sends a letter containing personal data to the wrong address, despite having been told about the change of address previously.
- A council data breach could occur if the council publishes information online.
- A medical records data breach could occur if your medical files were left open on a computer screen so that people without authorisation could view it.
Legal Expert has data breach solicitors for Salford who can handle your compensation claim. So, call us today to be connected with a data breach solicitor to help you.
How Often Do Data Breaches Happen?
The ICO publishes data security incident trends every quarter to show how many data breaches are reported to them.
- From 1st July 2021 to 30th September 2021, there were 2,431 data breaches reported to the ICO.
- The sectors which experienced the highest numbers of ICO reported data breaches were the health sector (435 breaches reported), the education and childcare sector (313 breaches) and the finance, insurance and credit sector (259 breaches).
- Of the data breaches reported to the ICO in this quarter, 714 were cyber security incidents. The rest were not.
How Do You Pursue A Data Breach Claim?
If an organisation has breached your data in a way that threatens your rights and freedoms, they should notify you within 72 hours. They should explain what data has been exposed and how this might affect you. Moreover, the organisation may explain what steps you need to take.
If you think that you have discovered a data breach, you should contact the organisation responsible. The ICO has a guide on raising your concerns about data breaches.
Hopefully, the organisation can resolve your complaint. But if you aren’t happy with their response, you can escalate this to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO may investigate the organisation and issue them with a fine. Please do not wait more than three months to get in touch with the ICO about the data breach after the last meaningful communication with the organisation. This is because if you do, they might decline to investigate the issue.
We recommend that you appoint a data breach solicitor to work on your claim. Legal Expert can provide you with a skilled data breach solicitor for Salford to handle your claim. Please get in touch with us today to begin the process of claiming.
Calculating Data Breach Compensation Amounts
Unfortunately, experiencing a data breach can be upsetting. As a result, data breaches victims may experience stress or other forms of emotional harm. For example, they may be worried that the breach could happen again or be concerned about who has access to their personal data.
A data breach can also be a costly affair. For example, fraudsters may use your contact details to target you for online scams or phishing attacks. Consequently, you can lose money and other financial assets. When a data breach solicitor values your claim, they consider the financial cost of a data breach.
Your data breach compensation payout can include up to two heads of claim:
- Material damages, which cover the cost of any financial losses incurred.
- Non-material damages compensation. These will compensate you for any emotional distress you have experienced. You could also claim psychological injuries such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Because of a Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Vidal Hall vs Google [2015], you no longer need to have suffered financial harm in order to claim for emotional harm.
You may wonder, “how much compensation can I get for a breach of GDPR?”. If this is the case, you can use the table below to estimate how much you can claim in non-material damages.
The compensation amounts in the table reflect guidelines from the Judicial College. Because of a ruling in Gulati vs MGN [2015], data breach claims can now be valued in the same way as personal injury claims.
| Psychological Injury | Comments On This Psychological Injury | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Injury – Severe | Effects could include difficulty in carrying on with education and work as well as an affect on relationships. There is a poor prognosis for this person recovering. | £51,460 to £108,620 |
| Psychiatric Injury – Moderately Severe | Symptoms may be similar to those outlined above. However, there is a better chance of making a recovery. | £17,900 to £51,460 |
| Psychiatric Injury – Moderately Severe | Again, effects may be similar to those in the above brackets, however, marked improvement will have been made and prognosis will be good. | £5,500 to £17,900 |
| PTSD – Severe | PTSD could affect all parts of this persons life. There could be significant and permanent damage. They may not be able to continue working or function in other ways similarly to pre-trauma levels. | £56,180 to £94,470 |
| PTSD – Moderately Severe | Compared with the above bracket, there will be a better prognosis for recovery with some professional help. However, the person will be significantly injured for the foreseeable future. | £21,730 to £56,180 |
| PTSD – Moderate | This person should have made a good level of recovery and any effects that do persist will not be grossly disabling. | £7,680 to £21,730 |
The amount of compensation that you receive can vary from the figures outlined above. Please get in touch with Legal Expert’s claims helpline, and your solicitor can estimate how much compensation you could claim.
Work With A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor Who Covers The Salford Area
If you choose to claim compensation for a data breach, we can handle your claim on a No Win No Fee basis. A data breach solicitor that operates on a No Win No Fee basis will handle your claim without charging you a solicitors fee upfront.
In addition to this, your solicitor won’t ask you to pay anything while the claim is ongoing. In the event that your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t be asked to pay them anything at all.
If you are awarded compensation, a “success fee” will be deducted from your compensation amount. However, this is legally capped, ensuring that you always get the majority of the compensation you’re awarded.
For more information on the benefits of a No Win No Fee agreement or to see if you could be represented on this basis, speak to a member of our team today.
Speak To A Claims Solicitor Covering Your Area
To begin your No Win No Fee data breach claim, please contact Legal Expert today. We could connect you with a knowledgeable data breach solicitor for Salford. We can also answer any questions you may have about making a data breach claim and advise you on the best steps to take.
Get in contact with Legal Expert using the details below:
- You can ask us a question directly. Just type your question into the Live Support widget on the bottom right-hand corner of your browser.
- Or call our helpline on 0800 073 8804 for free legal advice about making a data breach claim.
- You can also contact us in writing using our online form.
Learn About Claiming With Data Breach Solicitors
We hope this guide to working with data breach solicitors for Salford has been helpful. You may wish to read these guides to learn more about making a data breach claim.
Hotel Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide – A guide to claiming compensation if a hotel has breached your data.
Lost or Stolen Paperwork Data Breach Claims- Additional information on claiming compensation for a breach caused by the loss or theft of paperwork.
Police Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide – A guide to making a data breach compensation claim against the police.
Information on personal data breaches from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The ICO also provide a guide to the GDPR
Advice on how to report suspicious emails, websites and phishing scams from the government.
Thank you for taking the time to read this guide to data breach solicitors for Salford.
Written by Chelache
Edited by Stocks
