Private Healthcare Data Breach Compensation Claims
We all entrust private healthcare organisations to keep our information safe and secure. So, finding out your details were compromised can be disappointing and upsetting, impacting you mentally, financially or both.
However, at UK Law, we have a specialist panel of solicitors to help you pursue a private healthcare data breach claim. This process will help gain compensation for your suffering and/or financial losses, giving you stability and confidence to move forward with your life.
Key Takeaways
- Private healthcare facilities hold patients’ private information such as their name, religious beliefs and medical records, to deliver safe treatment.
- Such organisations have a legal obligation to adhere to data protection laws and regulations to ensure their patient’s personal data is secure.
- Private healthcare data breaches may occur as a result of human error, insufficient data protection measures or third-party cyber attacks.
- If your data was compromised by a private healthcare centre, causing psychological harm, financial losses, or both, you may claim compensation.
- Our excellent panel of solicitors at UK Law may help you pursue a private healthcare data breach claim on a No Win No Fee basis.
Contact our advisors today for a free private medical data breach claims consultation by calling them on 020 3870 4868.
Select A Section
- What Is A Private Healthcare Data Breach?
- Types Of Healthcare Data
- Preventing Medical Data Breaches
- How To Claim For A Private Healthcare Data Breach
- Private Healthcare Data Breach Compensation Calculator
- Begin Your Claim Against A Private Healthcare Provider
- Private Healthcare Data Breach Related Guides
What Is A Private Healthcare Data Breach?
A private healthcare data breach is a security incident, compromising a patient’s personal data which the organisation holds. This breach of security often results in the unlawful or accidental destruction, loss or access to a patient’s confidential information, potentially causing psychological harm, financial losses or both.
Data may become compromised in a private healthcare data breach if such facilities fail to comply with data protection laws or take necessary steps to ensure data remains secure. Here are some examples of this in practice:
- Human error. For example, a receptionist may send a letter to the incorrect address, exposing a patient’s name, date of birth and medical records.
- Phishing incidents. For example, hackers may send support staff at a private healthcare provider emails seeking passwords. If the employees aren’t trained in how to spot phishing attempts, personal data could be lost or stolen.
- Cyber attacks. For example, the practice may fail to update their security software, providing access for hackers to exploit patient’s banking details.
- Disclosing information. For example, a private medical professional may send your medical records to a different facility for advice without your consent.
If you were notified that your data was compromised in a private healthcare breach, contact an advisor for information regarding your next steps.
Types Of Healthcare Data
A private healthcare provider will process personal data and special category data (personal data that is extra sensitive and thus requires extra protection).
Personal data is any information that is able to identify you, whether on its own or with pieces of other data. Private healthcare providers typically hold such information for administrative and treatment purposes. Examples of personal data include:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Postal address
- E-mail address
Special category information is sensitive data that requires extra protection as exposure may compromise a person’s fundamental rights and freedoms. It is held by private healthcare facilities to ensure patients receive treatment that is tailored to their needs and beliefs. Some examples of this data include:
- Racial or ethnic origin
- Sexual orientation
- Religious beliefs
- Medical history
Inform our advisors of the type of data you had compromised by the private healthcare practice for advice on whether you are eligible to claim.
Preventing Medical Data Breaches
Private healthcare facilities are legally required to comply with UK data protection laws to prevent medical data breaches. In doing so, they are taking necessary steps to ensure the security of their patient’s data.
So, the predominant laws they must comply with to prevent data breaches are the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). Such legislation determines how your data is controlled, held and used by the private healthcare facility.
Additionally, such organisations can follow data protection guidance created by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This is an independent body within the UK that enforces data protection laws, provides security guidelines and investigates data breaches.
Some examples of how medical data breaches can be prevented include:
- Installing data protection software
- Enforce data protection training
- Limit access to viewing personal data
If a private healthcare centre failed to prevent a data breach, or comply with data protection laws, contact our advisors for advice on pursuing a claim.
How To Claim For A Private Healthcare Data Breach
To claim for a private healthcare data breach, you must meet the following eligibility criteria and prove that:
- The private healthcare practice failed to comply with UK data protection laws. This means that the provider failed to take necessary steps to ensure your data was secure.
- Your personal data was involved in a data breach. This means that your personal data became compromised by a breach, as security measures were not followed.
- You suffered as a result of the private healthcare data breach. This may have been psychologically, financially, or both.
Contact our advisors today for a free claims consultation and to learn more about the claims process.
Private Healthcare Data Breach Compensation Calculator
Generally, a data breach compensation calculator is a good way to get a quick estimate of how much compensation you could be awarded. In the section below we look at some of the items a calculator may consider when estimating how much compensation for a private healthcare data breach.
In a data breach claim, you could be awarded for your non-material damage. This is the psychological harm caused by the data breach, such as stress or anxiety. Your solicitor will refer to an independent medical assessor’s report of your psychological injuries and compensation guidelines from the Judicial College (JCG) when valuing this award.
The JCG provides suggestive compensation figures for injuries, including psychological ones. Solicitors refer to this to ensure compensation is calculated correctly and fairly. The table below provides examples from these guidelines so you can see how much your injury compensation may be valued at.
Please note the figures in this table are suggestive, not guaranteed. Also, the figure in the first row was not taken from the JCG.
| Psychological Harm | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Psychological Harm and Significant Financial Losses | Up to £250,000 plus |
| Severe Psychiatric Damage | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage | £23,270 to £66,920 |
| Moderate Psychiatric Damage | £7,150 to £23,270 |
| Less Severe Psychiatric Damage | £1,880 to £7,150 |
| Severe PTSD | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Moderately Severe PTSD | £28,250 to £73,050 |
| Moderate PTSD | £9,980 to £28,250 |
| Less Severe PTSD | £4,820 to £9,980 |
Additionally, you may be awarded compensation for your material damage if the private healthcare data breach affected you financially. Some examples of momentary losses you may be compensated for include:
- Lost earnings and work benefits such as pension contributions
- Medical bills for treatment, assessments or prescription costs
- Costs towards mental health services, such as counselling
- Payments for data security systems, software or CCTV
- Relocation costs, if this is required due to the data breach
- Travel costs for going to and from medical appointments
It may benefit your claim to keep a record of any evidence regarding your financial losses such as payslips or bank statements and of your medical treatment such as psychological reports.
Contact our advisors today for a more specific example of how much compensation you may be awarded in a successful personal data breach claim.
We are here to help you
Here at UKlaw our expert advisors are on hand 24 hours a day 7 days a week to assess your compensation claim. Should you require free legal advice we can connect you to a specialist solicitor.
Begin Your Claim Against A Private Healthcare Provider
Begin your private healthcare data breach claim today with our excellent panel of solicitors at UK Law. They are specialists in such claims and have undergone extensive training to provide you with professional legal advice and support.
There are many benefits to pursuing a data breach claim with our panel of solicitors. For example, they will:
- Ensure your data is protected by adhering to data protection laws
- Walk you through the claims process and explain legal jargon
- Help you collect evidence to establish who breached your data
- Try to get you the highest possible compensation payout for the harm you suffered
- Set you up with mental health services, such as counselling
Having acquired many years of combined experience, our panel of solicitors recognise the financial toll a data breach may have on you. Therefore, they offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis when you sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) with them. This is so you can seek legal support with no upfront costs towards their solicitors’ fees.
If your claim is successful, you will pay your solicitor for their helpful services. This success fee is a set percentage protected by a legal cap and will be taken from the compensation you are awarded.
At UK Law, we care about all of our clients and support them as much as we can. So, our panel of solicitors will help you get the justice and compensation you deserve, supporting you every step of the way.
Contact UK Law’s Advisors To Get Started
Contact our advisors at UK Law today for a free consultation and to get started on your private healthcare data breach claim by:
- Calling them on 020 3870 4868 to discuss the circumstances of your data breach
- Sending them any questions on their private live chat and have our human advisors answer them
Our lines are open 24/7. So, get in touch with them anytime.
Private Healthcare Data Breach Related Guides
You can learn more about pursuing a data breach claim by reading the guide linked below.
- How to make a care worker data breach claim
- Find out how long you have to report a data breach
- Answers to our data breach frequently asked questions
References
- Access mental health services, NHS.UK
- Information about protecting personal data, NCSC.GOV
- Learn about your rights under GDPR, ICO.ORG
Thank you for reading this guide which explains how to make a private healthcare data breach claim.
