What Is A Foster Care Data Breach Compensation Claim?

Have you, or someone you know, been subject to a foster care data breach? This article will explain compromised data and explore the Telford and Wrekin council breach. We will also explain foster care data protection, how much compensation you may be eligible to receive in a successful personal data breach claim and how we may be able to help your claim.

Compensation Claims For Foster Care Data Breaches Guide

In foster care, data breaches can be extremely detrimental as it involves children in vulnerable positions, who may have moved or been relocated due to dangerous situations at home. This information is often confidential and personally sensitive and should not be processed without a lawful basis. If this data is breached it could subsequently cause stress or other mental health problems and even endanger those affected.

If you have any questions about a foster care data breach, please contact our advisors they can provide free and relevant legal advice about data breaches, informing you on what steps to take. If they determine you have grounds for a data breach claim, they can connect you with our panel of expert solicitors to begin the claim. Contact our advisors today by:

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What Are Claims For A Foster Care Data Breach?
What Data May Be Involved?
The Telford And Wrekin Council Foster Care Data Breach
Protecting Foster Care Data
Examples Of Settlements For Data Breach Claims
Find Out How We Could Help You

What Are Claims For A Foster Care Data Breach?

Personal or personally sensitive data is protected primarily by two pieces of legislation, the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. These two pieces of legislation run alongside each other and outline the data protection rules and regulations for the UK.

The UK GDPR defines a personal data breach as a security incident that compromises the data subject’s personal information, i.e. the child’s, personal data. The security incident can include accessing, transmitting, processing, disclosing, losing, destroying or altering data. In order to process personal data, there has to be a lawful basis. A lawful basis refers to the legal reason behind processing data whether with consent, due to a contract or legitimate interest.

If a child is in foster care, there might be many people who have access to the data subject’s personal information such as social services or the local council.

The general entities that usually process data include:

Data controllers – The gatherer of the subject’s information and deems the purpose for what the data is for.
Data processors – A third party that processes the data on behalf of a controller according to the purpose they have established.

Contact our advisors for more information on what next steps you can take.

What Data May Be Involved?

A data breach can compromise any type of information about the data subject. However, only certain types of data are protected under data security laws, this includes personal data and special category data. For example, personal data can include:

Home address
Email address
Name
Phone number
Date of birth
Banking Information

Special category data which is extremely sensitive includes:

Ethnicity
Religion
Genetic data
Health data
Biometric data
Sexual orientation

If you would like to know about what other information constitutes personal data, get in touch with our advisors today.

The Telford And Wrekin Council Foster Care Data Breach

A prime example of a foster care data breach includes Telford and Wrekin Council, where a fine of £90,000 reduced to £72,000 for quick payment was given by the ICO. Two separate incidents occurred but the one we are referencing today is where foster placements for two children were changed after details of the placement were sent to the biological mother by mistake.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-18346228

Protecting Foster Care Data

When you think of a data breach you may automatically think about cybercrime and hacking databases. Although these have the potential to cause a data security incident. You may be surprised to learn that human error is responsible for the majority of data breaches. An organisation can take steps to ensure they mitigate human error as much as possible, for example:

Establishing rigorous access protocols
Managing and changing passwords

If breaches keep happening an organisation may benefit from a complete data protection overhaul with procedures and culture toward safeguarding data with regular, mandatory training refresher courses as well.

Examples Of Settlements For Data Breach Claims

If your claim for a foster care data breach is successful you could receive compensation for two heads of damages. The compensation separates according to the type of damage, for example:

Material damages – Stolen financial data could have consequences on your credit score and your overall wealth.
Non-material damages – For example, mental health problems such as stress, depression, anxiety and other psychological distresses.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) publish possible compensation brackets for non-material damages. The amount awarded for your claim is dependent on the type and severity of the injury. Please see the table below for possible figures outlined in the 16th edition of the JCG in 2022:

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Injury	Compensation	Notes
Severe mental health damage generally (a)	£54,830 to £115,730	The injured person may have severe problems with coping with life, work and relationships. The amount awarded changes depending on successful treatment, future vulnerability, prognosis and whether medical help has been sought.
Moderately severe mental health damage generally (b)	£19,070 to £54,830	Where the prognosis with the above factors has improved.
Moderate mental health damage generally (c)	£5,860 to £19,070	The prognosis has improved considerably from the above factors.
Less severe mental health damage generally (d)	£1,540 to £5,860	Award amount differs depending on the period of disability and the effect it has had on daily activities and sleeping patterns.
Severe anxiety disorder (a)	£59,860 to £100,670	Where the injury causes permanent effects stopping a return to work or working at a pre-trauma level.
Moderately severe anxiety disorder (b)	£23,150 to £59,860	The injured person has a better prognosis than above due to professional help, however, for the foreseeable future, there will still be a considerable disability.
Moderate anxiety disorder (c)	£8,180 to £23,150	The injured person will have undergone a near full recovery with minor continuing effects.
Less severe anxiety disorder (d)	£3,950 to £8,180	The injured person will have a full recovery within one to two years with small persisting symptoms.

Edit

Injury Compensation Notes

Severe mental health damage generally (a) £54,830 to £115,730 The injured person may have severe problems with coping with life, work and relationships. The amount awarded changes depending on successful treatment, future vulnerability, prognosis and whether medical help has been sought.

Moderately severe mental health damage generally (b) £19,070 to £54,830 Where the prognosis with the above factors has improved.

Moderate mental health damage generally (c) £5,860 to £19,070 The prognosis has improved considerably from the above factors.

Less severe mental health damage generally (d) £1,540 to £5,860 Award amount differs depending on the period of disability and the effect it has had on daily activities and sleeping patterns.

Severe anxiety disorder (a) £59,860 to £100,670 Where the injury causes permanent effects stopping a return to work or working at a pre-trauma level.

Moderately severe anxiety disorder (b) £23,150 to £59,860 The injured person has a better prognosis than above due to professional help, however, for the foreseeable future, there will still be a considerable disability.

Moderate anxiety disorder (c) £8,180 to £23,150 The injured person will have undergone a near full recovery with minor continuing effects.

Less severe anxiety disorder (d) £3,950 to £8,180 The injured person will have a full recovery within one to two years with small persisting symptoms.

When making your foster care data breach claim the process for qualifying for certain compensation has changed in recent years. The Court of Appeal decided in the Vidal-Hall v Google Inc case that non-material damages can be received without proof of financial compromisation.

For more information on data breach compensation in your claim against a foster care service, contact our advisors today.

Find Out How We Could Help You

If you need help with a personal data breach claim, get in touch with our advisors today. If they determine that your claim is valid they can put you in contact with our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors.

No Win No Fee is a common term referring to types of legal funding arrangements such as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Hiring a CFA lawyer means that if your claim is unsuccessful you do not pay for their service. They will only take a success fee if your claim succeeds. The fee is a small, capped percentage of your compensation.

If you would like the help of our panel of CFA solicitors, get in touch with our advisors today by: