In 2023, the NHS saw around 1.3 million people per day. Millions of people trust the NHS to take care of their health, but they also have an obligation to take care of their personal data.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the steps you could take to potentially pursue NHS data breach compensation. Data protection claims can seem complex, so we’ll also address the criteria that your case needs to meet in order to be valid.
For UK residents, personal data is protected under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act (DPA). These two pieces of legislation outline the steps that data controllers and data processors need to take when they handle your data. We’ll explore this in more detail, and demonstrate how failing to comply with data protection law could lead to a data breach.
One of the most common questions regarding the claims process is how much compensation you could actually get, so we’ll also discuss how compensation is generally calculated, and what it could be made up of.
Finally, our guide will touch on solicitors, and how working with a legal professional could make the claims process feel less stressful and complex.
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Our team of friendly advisors are here to help if you have any questions about claiming compensation for a data breach. To get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Use the live chat feature
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Browse Our Guide
- Can I Claim NHS Data Breach Compensation?
- When Could A Medical Data Breach Happen?
- What Could Help Me Claim For A Data Breach?
- How Much Data Breach Compensation Could I Receive?
- Can I Claim NHS Data Breach Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Read More About Data Breach Claims
Can I Claim NHS Data Breach Compensation?
Before we talk about whether or not you can make a claim, let’s decode some important data protection terminology. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), an independent watchdog responsible for enforcing data protection law, defines a data breach as a security incident that affects your personal data’s integrity, availability, or confidentiality.
Personal data, under the UK GDPR and DPA, can be any information that could be used to identify you. For example, this might include your phone number, full name, or date of birth. There’s also a subcategory of personal data known as special category data, which covers information that is sensitive in nature.
This is extremely relevant to the kind of data that the NHS may hold or use, as it covers things like your race or ethnicity, medical conditions or illnesses, gender or sexuality, and religion. When organisations handle this kind of data, they need to take extra steps set out under the DPA.
The NHS is both a data controller and a data processor. This means that they decide how and why your personal data is used and, in some cases, processes it themselves. In these roles, they must comply with the above legislation. If they don’t, this is known as wrongful conduct.
When Could I Have A Valid Claim?
To form the basis of a valid claim for medical data breach compensation, you need to be able to prove that:
- The organisation, i.e the controller or processor, engaged in wrongful conduct
- This caused a data breach that compromised your personal data. For example, a lack of training meant a receptionist gave the results of a medical test to an unauthorised person over the phone.
- As a result, you suffered financial or mental harm
Who Can Cause A Medical Data Breach?
The NHS employ a number of roles, and each will have different responsibilities regarding data protection. However, a medical data breach could be caused by a:
- Doctor
- Nurse
- Pharmacist
- Receptionist
- Lab technician
- Consultant
- Psychiatrist
- Counsellor
- Administrator
It’s important to note that you can’t claim against an individual, only an organisation. Keep reading to learn more about NHS data breach compensation.
When Could A Medical Data Breach Happen?
There are many common causes of data breaches, but as we’ve already mentioned, you need to be able to establish that your case meets the criteria above. Some examples of medical data breaches that could result in compensation include:
- An administrator at a sexual health clinic addresses a letter containing a patient’s HIV status to the wrong postal address, allowing unauthorised access to this information.
- An NHS psychiatrist keeps the personal data of service users on a personal laptop with no password protection. This laptop is then stolen, allowing the thief to access the data easily.
- A fax regarding a patient’s previous cancer treatment is misdirected to the wrong fax machine, and instead arrives at the home of someone in the area. This allows them to access their personal data.
NHS Data Protection Breach Statistics
Data breaches in a medical setting are not rare. In the year 2022/23, the NHS received 350 claims for personal data breach compensation, 55 more than in the year before. Of this number, 210 claims were settled, resulting in an overall payout of around £737,398.
If you’d like to find out if you could be eligible to claim NHS data breach compensation, contact our team of advisors today. Or, read on to learn more about the steps you can take when claiming data breach compensation.
What Could Help Me Claim For A Data Breach?
A crucial step in making a medical data breach claim is collecting evidence. This is because it’s your responsibility to prove:
- How the data breach happened
- Who was responsible for the breach
- How it has affected you
If you choose to work with a solicitor on your case, they can help you support your claim with evidence. This evidence may include:
- A letter of notification.
- Correspondence with the ICO.
- Receipts or bank statements that show financial losses.
- Medical records or a report that illustrates your mental harm.
To get more information on how a solicitor could help when making a claim for NHS data breach compensation, read on. Or, contact our team today to find out if a solicitor from our panel could help you.
How Much Data Breach Compensation Could I Receive?
When you make a personal data breach claim, the settlement can incorporate two types of loss. The first type of loss that we’ll talk about is called non-material damage, which covers the psychological effects of the breach.
For example, a personal data breach can cause anxiety, and you could also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. When these injuries are valued, those calculating your compensation can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The JCG provides guideline compensation brackets for various physical and mental injuries, sorting them by severity. We’ve included some of these brackets in the table below, but please note that the first entry is not from the JCG. As all data breach claims are awarded compensation on their own merits, this table is only intended to be used as a guide.
Guideline Compensation Brackets
| Harm | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|
| Very Severe Mental Harm And Material Damage Compensation Such As Lost Earnings | Up to £250,000+ |
| Severe Psychological Damage | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Moderately Severe Psychological Damage | £23,270 to £66,920 |
| Moderate Psychological Damage | £7,150 to £23,270 |
| Less Severe Psychological Damage | £1,880 to £7,150 |
| Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | £28,250 to £73,050 |
| Moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | £9,980 to £28,250 |
| Less Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | £4,820 to £9,980 |
Material Damage Compensation
You could also be compensated for your material damage, or any financial losses caused by the breach.
For example, this might include lost earnings after taking time off work to recover from the psychological effects of the breach, or the cost of counselling.
To learn more about material damage compensation, contact our team of advisors today. Or, read on to find out about the benefits a solicitor can bring to an NHS data breach compensation claim.
Can I Claim NHS Data Breach Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis?
A solicitor can be very helpful when you’re making a data breach claim. You aren’t obligated to work with one, but their years of experience and work in the legal field can make their knowledge invaluable.
For example, a solicitor can take over communications with the other party, ensuring everything is filed correctly and on time, and negotiating an appropriate settlement. Solicitors can also help you gather evidence and could arrange for you to undergo an independent psychological exam to prove your mental injuries.
Our panel of solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis and offer their services under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this kind of contract, you don’t need to pay an upfront fee for their work, nor do you need to pay for their services if the case isn’t successful. If it does succeed, then your solicitor will take a percentage of your compensation as their success fee.
Contact Us
Our advisors are here to help. If you would like to know more about NHS data breach compensation, they can tell you. Additionally, they can provide you with a free claim consultation. To get started:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Use the live chat feature
- Contact us online
Read More About Data Breach Claims
If you’d like to learn more about making a personal data breach claim:
- Find out if you could claim for a solicitor data breach with our guide
- Learn about the steps you could take if a hospital data breach were to occur
- Get help with claiming for emotional distress after a social services data breach with our article
Or, for further helpful resources:
- NCSC – Guidance and advice from the National Cyber Security Center
- MIND – Information and support from MIND, the mental health charity
- ICO – Advice for the public about information rights and data protection.
Contact our team today if you have any more questions about NHS data breach compensation.