Breach of Data Protection Claims
Data breaches can have a huge impact on you and your family’s life. The effects are not just financial (for example, having to move home in order to ensure your family’s safety), but also psychological and emotional. At Osbornes Law our specialist lawyers can advise you as to whether you may be entitled to compensation following a data breach by a local authority or a private company.
Breaches of Data Protection Law do not always happen deliberately and can be inadvertently lost or leaked.
Data Protection Legislation
You may be entitled to compensation if you can establish that there has been a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018, which is Britain’s interpretation of the GDPR. In addition, you may also be able to bring a claim against the Defendant for misuse or private information and/or breach of confidence. However, it will depend on the circumstances and each case is unique to its own facts.
Types of Compensation
Once you have established that a company or a public body has breached data protection law, you may be entitled to compensation as a result. You do not necessarily need to show that you have suffered as a result of the breach. However, if you have suffered harm and have incurred losses as a result, then you can claim for these losses and you will need to provide evidence. In many data protection cases losses do not begin to materialise until a few months after the initial breach.
There are a number of different types of loss for which you can claim. These include:
- Psychiatric Injury;
- Distress
- Costs associated with changing your name;
- Costs incurred as a result of having to move home;
- Medical expenses;
- Loss of earnings;
- Other financial losses.
Why Osbornes Law?
At Osbornes we recognise the devastating and life-changing impact that a breach of data protection can have. We frequently act for people who have had their data disclosed inadvertently to third parties and we are experienced in guiding people through the legal process.
We act for families who have been affected following breaches of data protection by local authorities, and in a number of cases we have secured substantial amounts of compensation to enable those families to move on with their lives.
We recently secured a six figure settlement for adoptive parents whose personal data was inadvertently disclosed by the local authority to their adopted daughter’s birth mother during the course of adoption proceedings. The birth mother had made threats against the adoptive family. As a result of the breach the adoptive family were required to immediately move home, to change their names, and to put in additional security measures to ensure their family’s safety. One of the adoptive parents had to immediately leave their job as a result and suffered loss of earnings. The local authority initially disputed the level of losses which had been incurred, however after a Joint Settlement Meeting and with the assistance of a barrister, we were able to negotiate a settlement of the case which adequately reflected the losses which had been incurred.
What do I do if my personal data has been misused?
If your personal data has been disclosed to a third party or has been misused in any other way, please contact our specialist legal team for advice.
Each case is different and it is important that you keep a diary of events so that you can demonstrate the impact that a data breach has had on you. Additionally, you should keep receipts for any expenses which you incur as a result.
For advice from our specialist solicitors Stephanie Prior and Nicholas Leahy please call 020 7485 8811 or complete or online enquiry form.