A Rehabilitation Centre Data Breach – How Do I Claim Compensation?
In this guide, we shall examine what a rehabilitation centre data breach could be and how this could affect those whose data has been breached. A rehabilitation centre is usually a type of medical facility where people that suffer from addictions can receive support, care and treatment. There are also rehabilitation centres for support and care after a person has suffered a traumatic injury.
Very often, such facilities, like other medical centres, will process the personal data of patients. In this guide, we discuss what laws there are to protect such data, who could be eligible to make a personal data breach claim and what damages could be awarded in a successful case.
A Rehabilitation Centre Data Breach Claims Guide
Our advisors can tell you if you have a valid claim. If they find you have a solid foundation for a claim, they may pass you to our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors. Call our claims team:
- Using the online claims form
- Completing our call-back form
- Phone 020 3870 4868
- Speak using the chat function below
Choose A Topic
- What Could A Rehabilitation Centre Data Breach Be?
- What Data Do Rehabilitation Centres Collect?
- How A Rehabilitation Centre Data Breach Could Impact You
- What To Show To Claim For A Data Breach
- Medical Centre Data Breach – How Much Could You Claim?
- Could I Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor For A Rehabilitation Centre Data Breach
What Could A Rehabilitation Centre Data Breach Claim Be?
A personal data breach is a security issue that has the potential to comprise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your personally identifiable information. Data controllers are usually an organisation that will state the means and overall purpose of processing your personal data, such as a medical facility. Whereas data processors may be contracted by a controller to process the data on their behalf. Both entities have a legal obligation to comply with data protection laws to ensure that personal data is kept secure.
The UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) outline the data protection regulations in the UK, establishing the rules that data controllers and processors must adhere to, to protect your personal data.
To make a rehabilitation centre data breach claim, you must be able to provide proof that the breach was a result of the organisation’s failings: that your personal data was involved and you suffered harm because of the breach. This can be financial harm or psychological harm.
Personal Data Breach Statistics
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is an independent public authority set to uphold the rights of data subjects. There are certain data security incidents that must be reported to them. The ICO takes these reports and publishes data security incident trends. In the health sector, from the fiscal second quarter of 2019 to Q2 2022, 6,035 data security incidents were reported; 5,577 of these were caused by human errors compared to 458 that were caused by cyber events.
To learn more about making a personal data breach claim, contact our claims team.
What Data Do Rehabilitation Centres Collect?
Personal data includes any information that can identify you, ranging from your name to your home and email address. However, a rehabilitation centre may also collect a type of personal data known as special category data. Data protection law gives special category data extra protections, as it can include your:
- Political alignment
- Religion
- Philosophical beliefs
- Genetic and biometric data
- Trade Union Membership
- Health data
As part of their duties, a rehabilitation centre may have access to your:
- Medical records
- NHS number
- Prescription history
- Full name, address, and postcode
- Test results
For information about what data could be affected should a rehabilitation centre data breach occur, contact our team today.
How A Rehabilitation Centre Data Breach Could Impact You
A personal data breach can put at risk information that is personal or personally sensitive. As a result of a breach, you may suffer damage to your finances as well as your mental health.
If medical data about addiction or mental health illness was breached, your mental state could deteriorate as personal information about you may now be in the public domain. If this information is compromised, it can lead to stress, depression or paranoia and can impact your ability to maintain healthy relationships with friends and family.
Financial losses can be suffered when banking information such as credit and debit card details are breached. Cybercriminals could use this data to steal funds from saving accounts or make fraudulent purchases.
For information about how else a personal data breach could affect you, consider contacting one of our friendly advisors. They can provide free and helpful legal advice.
What To Show To Claim For A Data Breach
Not all data breaches will be the fault of the data controller or processor in many instances, these organisations may have done everything to comply with data protection law but suffered a breach anyway.
To be eligible to make a personal data breach claim, the breach must have been caused by the failure on the part of the organisation to follow applicable laws. The breach must have involved your personal data, and there must also be proof that you have suffered monetary or psychological harm. For example, this could be shown through:
Correspondence with the organisation: Any breach that threatens the data subject’s rights or freedoms must be reported within 72 hours to the ICO, and the subject must be informed without undue delay. In this case, confirmation of the personal data breach along with the details may be communicated.
Making a complaint to the ICO: While the ICO cannot provide compensation, you can make an official complaint to them following a personal data breach. They may then choose to open an investigation into the breach.
Medical assessments: Medical records can be used as proof of any mental harm that has been caused.
Our advisors can provide more information surrounding how to prove your personal data breach claim when you contact us today.
Medical Centre Data Breach – How Much Could You Claim?
Generally, there are two heads of claim. These include:
Material damage: This covers the financial losses that arise as a result of a personal data breach. This can be due to compromised banking information and credit and debit cards. The consequences can range from theft and fraud to identity impersonation for loan applications.
Non-material damage: relates to the psychological injuries you may suffer due to your personal information being compromised. You could potentially develop anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and other psychiatric illnesses.
The guideline compensation brackets for your non-material damage are listed in the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG helps legal professionals by providing guideline compensation amounts for various injuries and illnesses.
| Mental Health Illness | Bracket Figures | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Severe post-trauma anxiety and stress | £59,860 – £100,670 | The person may be permanently affected and have problems working again or at least returning to pre-trauma employability. |
| Moderately severe post-trauma anxiety and stress | £23,150 – £59,860 | Where professional help has taken place, and the prognosis is more optimistic. |
| Moderate post-trauma anxiety and stress | £8,180 – £23,150 | The injured person has largely recovered and any persisting effects are not greatly detrimental. |
| Less severe post-trauma anxiety and stress | £3,950 – £8,180 | Where a near full recovery is undertaken within one to two years. |
| Severe psychiatric general damage (a) | £54,830 – £115,730 | The injured person has marked problems coping with day to day life, relationships, social life and employment. |
| Moderately severe psychiatric general damage (b) | £19,070 – £54,830 | Considerable problems with the above factors still exist, but the prognosis is more optimistic. |
| Moderate psychiatric general damage (c) | £5,860 – £19,070 | Marked improvement to the factors mentioned above. The prognosis is categorized as good. |
| Less severe psychiatric general damage (d) | £1,540 – £5,860 | Considers the length of the disability period and the extent to which daily activities and sleep were affected. |
If you want more information about data breach compensation claims, contact our claims team today. They can provide a free estimation of how much your claim could be valued.
Could I Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor For A Rehabilitation Centre Data Breach
Personal data breach claims can be a complex area of law. Because of this, you may find it beneficial to call our team of advisors. They can provide free legal advice and further helpful guidance surrounding your case, including whether or not your claim could be valid. If it is, they may be able to put you in touch with a solicitor from our expert panel.
Our panel of solicitors often work under a kind of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a way to access legal counsel without paying any upfront or ongoing costs. If your claim fails, you do not pay your solicitor’s fee. However, CFA lawyers are paid via a success fee, which is a capped percentage of your awarded compensation.
To find out if you could benefit from our panel of CFA solicitors, call our claims team:
- Use the online claims form
- Completing our call-back form
- Phone 020 3870 4868
- Speak using the chat function below
Continue Reading About Data Breaches
We have many other helpful guides about data breaches:
Private Healthcare Data Breach Compensation Claims
Misdirected Fax Data Breach Compensation Claims
Who Can Claim After A UK GDPR Breach?
And we have provided some useful external links too:
