How To Claim For The Unauthorised Access To Patient Medical Records In The UK

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Advice On How To Claim For Unauthorised Access To Patient Medical Records In The UK

A personal data breach that involved unauthorised access to your patient medical records in the UK could have psychological repercussions, such as stress and anxiety. This article provides the information you may want to know when considering making a claim for unlawful access to your personal data. For instance, we discuss your eligibility to begin a claim, evidence that may support a case and the time limits that will apply to your claim.

Additionally, we explain how compensation for a data breach is calculated. This article contains a table you can use to estimate your potential compensation, which you can discuss with our team of advisers. They can provide a more accurate estimate based on the circumstances you describe. Furthermore, they may be able to put you in touch with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel. To find out more:

Choose A Topic

  1. How To Claim For Unauthorised Access To Patient Medical Records In The UK
  2. Examples Of Unauthorised Access To Patients’ Medical Records
  3. Evidence Supporting Medical Data Breach Cases
  4. Potential Compensation Payouts For A Medical Data Breach
  5. Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim For Unauthorised Access To Patient Medical Records In The UK
  6. Find Out More About Medical Data Breach Claims

How To Claim For Unauthorised Access To Patient Medical Records In The UK

A set of laws regulate the processing of personal data of UK residents. These are called the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Together, these pieces of legislation outline the legal requirements that certain entities, known as data controllers and data processors, must uphold.

The UK GDPR defines these entities as the following:

  • A data controller is an entity or body deciding how and why to process personal data.
  • A data processor is an entity or body processing that data on behalf of a controller.

If these entities fail to process personal data in accordance with the legislation mentioned above, they are exposing personal data to undue risk of exposure.

You are only eligible to begin this type of claim when your personal data has been affected. This is information that can be used, alone or in conjunction with other data, to identify you as a living individual. For example, this could include:

  • Your name
  • Data about your health
  • Your National Insurance number

Personal data about your health is considered special category data. This means it requires more protection because of its sensitive nature, so contact our team of advisers if you have evidence regarding unauthorised access to your patient medical records in the UK.

We will go into more detail about personal data breaches in a later section, but for now, it is worth knowing whether you could be eligible to claim compensation if a breach of the UK GDPR compromised your medical records.

Time Limits In Medical Data Breach Claims

You have 1 year to begin a claim against a public body. However, you typically have 6 years when claiming against other organisations, such as a private healthcare provider. If you have questions about how these time limits will affect your ability to claim, speak to our advisers.

Examples Of Unauthorised Access To Patients’ Medical Records

A personal data breach is a security incident that leads to the accidental or unlawful destroying, losing, altering, unauthorised disclosing or accessing of an individual’s personal data. In terms of your medical records, unauthorised access could involve:

  • A lost or stolen device that allows an unknown person or entity to access your medical data.
  • A sexual health clinic or other treatment centre sends an email to the wrong email address. Therefore the recipient can gain unauthorised access to your medical information.
  • An organisation fails to update its security systems, meaning hackers can use known vulnerabilities to access patient files.
  • A hospital employee views the medical records of a patient when they have no authority to do so.

It’s important to state that your claim relies upon showing that the data controller or processor failed to uphold their legal responsibilities when processing your personal data. The next section discusses some evidence that may help you do this.

Evidence Supporting Medical Data Breach Cases

If a data controller becomes aware of a data breach that involves your personal data and infringes on your rights, they must inform you without undue delay. This letter or email correspondence you should keep as this can be used as evidence in your case. You can always reply by asking what data was involved, how the breach occurred and what they plan to do to rectify the situation again, their response can also be kept to support a personal data breach claim.

If you suspect a data breach yourself, you can always write to the organisation where you suspect the breach has taken place. You can ask if your personal data has been involved in a breach. Any correspondence that takes place can be used as evidence. If the organisation fail to reply or you are not satisfied with their response, you can escalate this complaint or ask the Information Commissioner’s Office ICO to investigate. The ICO is the independent public body that upholds information rights and data protection legislation. If the ICO decide to investigate the breach and the findings are in your favour, this could be really beneficial to your claim.

If you would like help to acquire evidence to support your personal data breach claim, one of the solicitors on our panel may be able to help. Contact our advisers to learn more about the services you can benefit from under a No Win No Fee agreement.

Potential Compensation Payouts For A Medical Data Breach

You can claim compensation for anxiety or stress due to a data breach that compromised your personal information. This type of harm is called non-material damage.

To assess the potential value of this head of claim, solicitors will usually check the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication outlines different injuries according to their type and severity, and we’ve included some of the JCG’s compensation brackets in the table below.

Please remember that these figures are only intended as guidance; the compensation you may receive will vary based on the unique circumstances of your claim.

Compensation Guidelines For Non-Material Damage

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Non-Material Damage Severity JCG Information Further Details
(a) General Psychiatric/Psychological Damage Severe £54,830 – £115,730 General prognosis is very poor. The individual person’s coping abilities regarding education, work, and relationships are markedly affected.
(b) General Psychiatric/Psychological Damage Moderately Severe £19,070 – £54,830 General prognosis is much more optimistic than in the above bracket. However, the individual person’s coping abilities mentioned above are significantly affected for a period of time.
(c) General Psychiatric/Psychological Damage Moderate £5,860 – £19,070 The general prognosis is good. The individual person may have experienced problems regarding work, education, or relationships, but there will be marked improvement by time of the trial.
(d) General Psychiatric/Psychological Damage Less Severe £1,540 – £5,860 This award will consider the length of time the individual person experiences a disability. It will also consider length of period that activities such as sleep are affected.
(a) Reactive Psychological Trauma Severe £59,860 – £100,670 All aspects of the individual person’s life are badly affected.
(b) Reactive Psychological Trauma Moderately Severe £23,150 – £59,860 Better prognosis, though the individual person is likely to experience significant disabilities for future.
(c) Reactive Psychological Trauma Moderate £8,180 – £23,150 Cases in which the individual person experiences a good recovery.
(d) Reactive Psychological Trauma Less Severe £3,950 – £8,180 Virtual complete recovery is made within one or two years. Only symptoms of a minor nature persist.

Other Losses You Could Claim For

Additionally, a claim could reimburse you for material damage that the personal data breach caused. Material damage is financial loss, like money stolen from your bank account or damage done to your credit score. Contact our advisers to learn more about the financial losses you may be able to recoup through this head of claim.

Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim For Unauthorised Access To Patient Medical Records In The UK

If you have evidence regarding unauthorised access to your patient medical records in the UK, you may be eligible to claim data breach compensation. However, it’s worth knowing that you don’t have to pursue this path alone.

If you choose to work with one of the solicitors on our panel, they may offer their services under a No Win No Fee agreement. Typically, they use a certain type of No Win No Fee known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Using a CFA means that, instead of asking for ongoing payments for their services, your solicitor would take a success fee at the end of the claim. However, they would only do this if the claim succeeds. Generally, agreeing to the terms of a CFA means that you do not have to pay for the solicitor’s services if your claim ultimately fails.

Success fee percentages are subject to a legislative cap. Also, you and your solicitor will discuss this and come to an agreement before you sign anything.

Contact Us

Our team of advisers are available 24/7 to answer questions you may have about the claims process. During a free consultation, they can provide insight into the merits of your potential claim.

Furthermore, they may be able to put you in touch with one of the solicitors on our panel. However, they will only do so if you wish to proceed with a claim. This consultation is obligation-free, so you can get the information you may want without feeling pressured. Learn more today:

Find Out More About Medical Data Breach Claims

Other data breach claim guides:

Medical Test Results Data Breach – How Much Could I Claim?

Medical Records Gone Missing, Can I Make A Data Breach Claim?

What Is A Stolen Documents Data Breach Claim?

Other resources: bb

About the ICO – The Information Commissioner’s Officer (ICO), an independent body that ensures personal data rights are upheld and investigates potential personal data breaches

Make A Complaint – Steps you can take if you feel your data is not being processed safely

Data Breaches – Guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an organisation that provides support for companies and individuals.

For more information about your eligibility to claim for unauthorised access to patient medical records in the UK, our advisers can help. Speak to them using the details provided above.