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Hull City Council Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide – How Much Compensation Can I Claim? – Amounts For Hull County Council Data Breach

Local councils often need to collect personal data from the public to operate. Importantly, local councils must follow data protection legislation, such as the UK General Data Protection Regulation. Therefore, what would happen if a local council breaches personal data? Does the data breach victim have the right to claim compensation? Are you wondering whether you may have suffered a Hull City Council data breach?

Hull City Council data breach claims guide

Hull City Council data breach claims guide

Legal Expert can help you if you wish to make a claim for a Hull City Council data protection breach. We offer a free consultation to anyone looking to claim compensation for a data breach. Moreover, Legal Expert can provide you with a dedicated specialist solicitor to handle your claim. Your lawyer will keep in regular contact with you as your case proceeds.

To begin your claim, call 0800 073 8804. Or contact us via our website.

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A Guide About Claims For A Hull City Council Data Breach

Hull City Council is the governing body for the city and unitary authority of Kingston upon Hull. Hull City Council is a governing body in the United Kingdom. Therefore the council must abide by data-protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This was first introduced as an EU regulation, the purpose of which is to protect data subjects’ personal information. The Data Protection Act 2018 enacts the GDPR into the laws of the United Kingdom.

What must Hull City Council do to make sure that they comply with the GDPR? Firstly, the UK General Data Protection Regulation states that those that collect personal data and information must keep it secure. For a data breach claim to succeed the onus is on the claimant to establish how the data controller failed to keep their personal information safe.

To comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, data controllers should ensure that they have robust cybersecurity systems and that employees are trained on data awareness. For instance, Hull City Council could train its staff in data protection and management. This is to avoid mishaps that can lead to data breaches. In addition, organisations could invest in cybersecurity and IT systems to protect their databases from cyber attacks.

If a Hull City Council breach of data protection occurred could you be eligible to claim compensation?. Contact Legal Expert today. We can assign a skilled solicitor; to handle your claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

How Long Do You Have To Claim Compensation?

There is a six-year time limit for making a data breach claim against a private company. However, if the data breach comes from a local council or another public body, the time limit becomes one year. The timeframe could also change due to other factors, such as the nature of the data breach. So, we recommend that you speak to us very soon about your case because you don’t want to miss out.

How Common Are Data Breaches In Businesses And Organisations?

The government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021 clearly indicates how prevalent data breaches are. Here are some key findings from the survey:

39% of businesses said that a cybersecurity breach or attack had affected them in the last year. Furthermore, 21% of these businesses said they lost data, assets, or money due to the breach. Likewise, 26% of charities said that a cybersecurity breach or attack had affected their organisation last year. Similarly, 18% of these charities said they lost money, data or assets because of the breach.

Moreover, 40% of businesses and 35% of charities that experienced breaches also said that the breaches negatively impacted their organisation. For example, that the data breach was disruptive to their work or wasted their resources.

What Could Be A Hull City Council Data Breach?

A data breach is when a security incident happens, which compromises personal data protection. How could a local council data breach happen? The data breach can be caused by human error. Or a council could be the target of a cyber attack.

A council data protection breach can cause the following problems:

  • Personal data can be lost or stolen
  • Or personal data can become altered or encrypted
  • A data leak or data exposure incident can occur
  • Or individuals can gain illegal access to personal data.

If the personal data breach caused you any emotional distress or psychological damage, could you claim compensation for this? Likewise, if you lost money or assets because of the data breach, could you claim compensation to repay you for these losses? We will explain how the data breach claims process works later on in this guide.

Does The GDPR Apply To Local Authority Data?

Local authorities are large organisations that govern districts in the UK. Therefore, local authorities are legally obliged to follow the Data Protection Act 2018. There are seven key principles of the GDPR. Let’s look at these key principles.

The 7 Key Principles Of The GDPR

  • Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency: When processing personal data, all relevant laws on data protection should be followed. Data controllers must explain why to the data subject.
  • Purpose limitation: Personal information cannot be used for any reason other than the one given to the data subject.
  • Data minimisation: Only collect personal data that they need for a specific purpose.
  • Accuracy: Personal information must be up to date.
  • Storage limitation: Not hold onto data that they no longer need.
  • Integrity and confidentiality (security): A strong computer security system to protect the data it stores.
  • Accountability: To comply with the GDPR.

Contact Legal Expert today if you believe that Hull City Council has breached your personal data. You may be eligible to make a personal data breach claim for compensation. Inwhich case, a skilled solicitor will be assigned to start working on your claim right away.

Ways In Which Public Bodies Could Breach Your Data Privacy

In what ways could a council data breach occur? Let’s look at some possible examples of breaches of personal data.

  • If the council publishes a document online but fails to redact personal information about an individual, this is a data exposure incident.
  • A council employee could send out a mass email and accidentally attach a file containing personal data.
  • A victim of domestic violence may be staying in a shelter. If social services fail to protect information about their whereabouts, the person could be traced by their abusive partner.
  • The council can leave files containing personal information in a room that the public has access to.
  • A Hull City Council cyberattack takes place. Criminals could use hacking, malware or a virus to gain unlawful access to the council’s database. Consequently, the criminals could steal the data and use it for malicious purposes.
  • A council staff member loses a device such as a laptop or a smartphone without any encryption on it.
  • Insider threat is also a problem for large organisations. This is when an employee steals data and uses it for personal reasons, either leaking it online or passing it onto a third party.
  • Information on community safety includes case studies. However, the council fails to redact personal information about the people in the case studies and therefore fails to protect their privacy.

Who Can Make A Council Data Breach Claim?

To be eligible to make a data breach claim against a data controller the onus is on the claimant to prove that the data breach occurred because those responsible for securing the data failed to keep it safe.

Breaches Of Tenants Rent Statements And Information

People who rent social housing from their local council are often referred to as public housing tenants. The council has a legal obligation to protect the personal data of its tenants. How can a breach of personal data belonging to public housing tenants occur? For example, a rent agreement is sent to the wrong recipient.

What social housing tenants data can be breached?

  • Passport data
  • Names
  • Email addresses
  • Home addresses
  • Dates of birth
  • Tenancy documents or scans of tenancy audit documents

Have you been affected by a data breach over a rent statement or a social housing data breach? Let’s look into how the data breach claims process works and advise you on claiming compensation.

What Happens When You Complain To The Information Commissioner?

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is a non-governmental public body that upholds the data protection rights of the public. Moreover, the ICO has the power to enforce the UK-GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. They can do so by fining organisations that breach data protection laws.

If a data breach occurs at Hull City Council, the data protection officer should report the incident to the ICO within 72 hours. But only in certain circumstances. The Information Commissioner’s Office may investigate the data breach. Therefore if you believe that you have been affected by a Hull City Council data breach, we recommend raising your concerns with the council. Hull City Council may be able to resolve the matter internally.

At what stage should you notify the ICO about your concerns? If the data breach has not been resolved and three months have passed since your last meaningful contact with a council, you can report the data breach to the ICO. At this stage, you may wish to find a lawyer to help you claim data breach compensation.

What Can You Do If A Council Breaches Your Data Privacy?

It all depends on whether the breach happened because of failure in keeping your personal data private. If the data controller is not at fault for the breach you would not be able to make a data breach claim. However, if they did not update their cybersecurity systems or train employees on data protection then if your personal information is exposed you may have the right to make a claim.

What Can Legal Expert Offer You?

  • Firstly, your solicitor would be funded using No Win No Fee terms, giving all our clients equal access to legal representation.
  • Secondly, we will assess your claim in-depth before we begin to work on it.
  • What’s more, we have several pages of online solicitors reviews.
  • And finally, Legal Expert will provide you with an experienced solicitor.

Effects Which You Could Claim Compensation For

Data breaches can violate your privacy and be a traumatic experience. What’s more, data breaches can sometimes put the victim in danger. If you suffer emotional distress that was caused by the data breach by proving that the breach occurred because of security failures you could be eligible to claim. This head of compensation is known as non-material damages.

Furthermore, criminals often use stolen data to target data breach victims for economic crimes. Data breach victims can become victims of identity theft, fraud, robbery or blackmail. Therefore, you may experience financial losses. So, your data breach compensation package can also include funds to reimburse you for these losses. This head of compensation is known as material damages.

Hull City Council Data Breach How Do You Calculate Compensation?

You may be wondering how much your claim is worth. This table can be used as a guide on how much compensation you could claim. The compensation amounts in this table are based on guidelines that the Judicial College has published.

Edit
Injury Caused Damages Notes
Psychiatric Injury Severe £51,460 – £108,620 The victim will have marked problems with all aspects of life.
Psychiatric Injury- Moderately Severe £17,900 – £51,460 The person will have very significant problems with factors such as life, work and education. The prognosis will be more optimistic than those with severe injuries.
Psychiatric Injury – Moderate £5,500 – £17,900 The person should have experienced a marked improvement in relation to their ability to cope with life, work and education.
Psychiatric Injury – Less Severe Up to £5,500 Compensation will consider the duration of disability as well as the impact on daily activities and sleep.
Severe PTSD £56,180 – £94,470 The person will have suffered permanent PTSD injuries. This may prevent the person working or severely reduce their ability to do so at the same level as before.
Moderately Severe PTSD £21,730 – £56,180 Some degree of recovery could be made if the person has professional care. The injury could leave the person with a significant disability for some time.
Moderate PTSD £7,680 – £21,730 The victim should have largely recovered from any injuries sustained.
Less Severe PTSD Up to £7,680 The victim should have made a full recovery within a period of one or two years. Beyond this there should only be minor symptoms.

However, please be aware that your compensation payout may vary, depending on the circumstances of your claim. Call our advisors today, and we can estimate how much your claim could be worth. Please note, this table only includes non-material damages. We have not included any material damages compensation that you could claim.

No Win No Fee Data Breach Claims?

At Legal Expert, we believe in giving our clients access to legal help no matter their financial state. That’s why we offer claimants the option to make a claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor. This means that you will not have to pay an upfront or hourly solicitors fee before we start working on your claim. Instead, you will pay a success fee if you win. You will not be charged a success fee, in the unlikely outcome that your claim is unsuccessful. We will formalise this by you signing a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Here Are Some Of The Benefits Of Making A No Win No Fee Claim

  • No Win No Fee solicitors may be more affordable because an upfront solicitors fee is not required.
  • What’s more, No Win No Fee solicitors may carry a lower financial risk. This is because your solicitor will only charge you a success fee if you win.
  • And if you win your claim, the majority of the compensation payout will go to you.

How Do I Choose A Solicitor And Claim?

Many claimants wonder if the location of their data breach solicitor makes a difference. What is more important is finding a solicitor with relevant experience and expertise to handle your claim. Especially in this day and age, solicitors can handle communications over the phone or via email. Therefore trust Legal Expert and we will provide you with a solicitor that has the right skills and experience to handle your claim.

Starting Your Claim

To claim compensation for a Hull City Council data protection breach, contact us today using the details below:

Where To Find Out More?

We hope that this guide about claims for a Hull City Council data breach has helped you. Please feel free to read these data breach guides to learn more about making a data breach claim.

Holmes Financial Solutions Ltd Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

Premier Inn Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

HR Data Breaches Compensation Claims Guide

Be Data-Aware – A guide from the ICO on how organisations may use your personal data.

Online Safety – An ICO guide to keeping your personal data safe online

A guide to data protection from the ICO

Other Useful Compensation Guides

FAQs People Also Ask About Data Breaches

Clients often ask us questions about claiming compensation for a data breach. We will attempt to answer these questions now.

Can you get compensation for a data breach?

It depends on whether the organisation is at fault for the breach. The compensation you receive will be for any emotional distress and financial losses that you have experienced.

How soon should a data breach be reported?

In most cases, the data protection officer should in 72 hours report the breach to the ICO.

Are local authorities exempt from the GDPR?

Local authorities are not exempt from the GDPR. This means that councils must invest in protecting personal information.

Are you wondering if you have suffered a Hull City Council data breach? Why not call our team for some free advice.

Written By Chelache

Edited By Melissa.

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    • Patrick Mallon legal expert author

      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.

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