Who Could Claim For An Administrator Data Breach?

Administrator Data Breach

Administrator Data Breach Claims Guide

You might be able to make a claim if your personal information has been compromised in an administrator data breach. However, you will need to prove that the organisation’s failings caused the breach and, as a result, you suffered financial loss or psychological harm.

Within this guide, we will explain the specific criteria that must be met in order to make a personal data breach claim. We will also share the data protection law that all organisations must follow when processing the data of UK residents. Additionally, we will share the evidence you could collect and steps you could take to help support your claim.

If you want to discuss your potential claim, contact one of our friendly advisors today. They could offer you free advice for your claim and answer any of your questions. Furthermore, they may connect you with a data protection solicitor from our panel who could help you with your claim.

To contact one of our advisors today:

Select A Section

  1. Who Could Claim For An Administrator Data Breach?
  2. What Could Cause A Data Breach?
  3. Evidence Supporting Claims For Administrator Data Breaches
  4. What Compensation Could You Claim For An Administrator Data Breach
  5. No Win No Fee Administrator Data Breach Claims
  6. Contact Our Team To Find Out More

Who Could Claim For An Administrator Data Breach? 

Any information that could directly identify or identify you in combination with other information is classed as personal data. Your name, mobile phone number and home address are all examples of personal data.

Any organisation that processes your personal data must adhere to rules and regulations set out in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Together these make-up data protection law. Per data protection law, they must take all the necessary steps to protect your personal information.

Data controllers, usually companies that state the purpose and means of processing your data and processors, very often hired as a third party to process the data, must always adhere to data protection laws. An administrator could work for a data controller or processor.

If an organisation were to fail to adhere to data protection law, this could result in a data breach that compromises your personal data. A personal data breach is when your personal data’s availability, integrity or confidentiality has been affected.

To make a claim for an administrator data breach, you must prove that your personal data was breached due to the failure of the organisation to comply with data protection law. Additionally, you must have suffered some financial loss or mental harm.

However, it is important to note that when making a claim, you would claim against the organisation the administrator works for, not the individual.

What Time Limit Applies To Claims For An Administrator Data Breach

You must ensure that you start your personal data breach claim within the relevant time limits. Generally, you will have 6 years to start your claim. However, if your claim is being made against a public body, this time limit is reduced to 1 year.

Contact one of our advisors today to see whether you still have enough time to start your claim.

What Could Cause A Data Breach? 

Some examples of how your personal information could be involved in a data breach include:

  • Your workplace fails to update their cyber security measures, resulting in your personal data being stolen in a cyber attack.
  • Human error, such as an administrator sending a letter containing your personal information to the wrong postal address. This means an unauthorised person could have access to your personal data.
  • The administrator failed to lock away or secure your personal data. This could result in your personal data being lost or stolen.

However, you must remember that the organisation’s failings must have caused the breach to be eligible to make a claim.

Contact one of our advisors today to see whether you may be eligible to make a claim if your personal information has been involved in an administrator data breach.

Evidence Supporting Claims For Administrator Data Breaches 

There is certain evidence you could collect and steps you could take to help support your chances of a successful claim, such as:

  • Proof that your personal data was breached. This could be a confirmation letter from the organisation responsible for the breach. They must inform you of a personal data breach without undue delay if they believe your rights or freedom may be affected. Additionally, they must inform the Information Comissioner’s Office (ICO) of the breach within 72 hours of discovering it. The ICO are an independent authority that upholds information rights and data protection law.
  • However, if you were to discover the breach yourself, you could make a direct complaint to the organisation responsible and ask them to clarify what personal data was involved.
  • Additionally, you could report the data breach to the ICO. They may then decide to investigate the breach, and their findings could be used as evidence in your claim. However, you must do this within 3 months of your last communication about the data breach with the organisation.
  • Medical evidence that you suffered a psychological injury due to the data breach, such as a copy of your medical records stating your diagnosis.

Contact one of our advisors today to see whether you could claim for an administrator data breach that involved your personal data.

What Compensation Could You Claim For An Administrator Data Breach 

You could receive compensation for your psychological injuries, otherwise referred to as your non-material damage. For example, you could suffer from anxiety after a data breach.

When valuing your claim, a legal professional may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document outlines compensation guidelines for various types of injuries at different severity levels. We have used the figures stated in the current edition of the JCG (published in April 2022) when producing the following table.

Please only refer to the following table as a guide.

Edit
Injury Severity Notes Compensation Guidelines
Psychological Damage. Severe. The person will severely struggle with their working and daily life, among other issues, and will have a very poor prognosis. £54,830 to £115,730
Psychological Damage. Moderately Severe. Significantly struggle to cope with daily life and will experience future vulnerability. However, there is an optimistic prognosis. £19,070 to £54,830
Psychological Damage. Moderate. Despite struggling to cope with their day-to-day life and other issues improvements have or will be made. £5,860 to £19,070
Psychological Damage. Less Severe. Various factors, such as the length of the disability, will affect the amount awarded. £1,540 to £5,860
Anxiety Disorder. Severe. Permanent issues will stop the person from functioning as they did pre-trauma. Every aspect of their life will be negatively affected. £59,860 to £100,670
Anxiety Disorder. Moderately Severe. The person will significantly struggle with a disability for the foreseeable future. However, there is a chance for some recovery with professional help. £23,150 to £59,860
Anxiety Disorder. Moderate. A large recovery will have been made with any continuing issues not being grossly disabling. £8,180 to £23,150
Anxiety Disorder. Less Severe. An (almost) complete recovery has been made within 1-2 years. £3,950 to £8,180

Are There Other Ways You Could Be Compensated?

Additionally, you could be compensated for your financial losses in your personal data breach claim. This is otherwise referred to as your material damage. For example, if your banking information were to be compromised in a data breach, this could result in money being taken from your account.

You must provide evidence that you suffered financial losses due to the data breach, such as a copy of your bank, debit and credit card statements.

Contact one of our advisors today to see whether you may be eligible to make a claim if your personal data was compromised in an administrator data breach.

No Win No Fee Administrator Data Breach Claims 

A solicitor from our panel could offer to help you with your claim. They have lots of experience handling various personal data breach claims and may offer to represent you under a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement.

You will generally not be expected to pay any upfront or ongoing services fees when working with a No Win No Fee solicitor. Additionally, you will not be expected to pay them for their services if the claim fails. However, you will pay them a percentage of your compensation if they succeed with your claim. This is called a success fee, and the amount they can take is legally capped.

Contact our advisors today to see how a solicitor from our panel could help you with your claim if your personal information has been compromised in an administrator data breach.

Contact Our Team To Find Out More 

If an administrator data breach has caused your personal data to become compromised, you might be able to make a claim. Contact one of our friendly advisors today to discuss your potential claim and receive free advice. They may also connect you with a solicitor from our panel who could assist you with your case if one of our advisors believes you could be eligible to make a claim.

To contact one of our advisors today:

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Do not hesitate to contact one of our advisors today to see whether you could make a claim if your personal information has been involved in an administrator data breach.