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Confidential Info Sent To The Wrong Email Address – Can I Claim?
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 30th January 2024. Businesses and organisations must safeguard personal data under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 DPA. Confidential information is not always personal data. So in order to make confidential information sent to the wrong email address data breach claim, you would need to show what personal data was included.
Sending an email to the wrong person can be a UK GDPR data breach if the email contains a data subject’s personal data. To find out if you can make a data breach claim because confidential information was sent to the wrong email address, please call us today for your free consultation, and if we can see that you have a valid reason to claim, we can provide you with a skilled solicitor to manage your case.
To make a data breach claim:
- Call our helpline on 0800 073 8804
- Use our online claims form to contact us
- Or type your question into our Live Support bar, and we will answer it promptly
To learn more, why not check out our video below:
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- What To Do If Confidential Information Was Sent To The Wrong Email Address
- Examples Of How Confidential Information Could Be Sent To The Wrong Email Address
- Is Sending An Email To The Wrong Person A Data Breach?
- Can I Claim If My Confidential Information Was Sent To The Wrong Email Address?
- What Evidence Can Help Me Prove A Claim After Confidential Information Was Sent To The Wrong Email Address?
- Compensation For A Data Protection Breach
- Contact Us To Start A No Win No Fee Claim
What To Do If Confidential Information Was Sent To The Wrong Email Adress
A personal data breach can be defined as a security incident in which the availability, confidentiality or integrity of your personal information is compromised. Subsequently, your personal data may be accidentally or unlawfully accessed, altercated, destroyed, lost or disclosed.
Therefore, sending an email to the wrong person or email address can be viewed as a personal data breach, given that information that could be used to identify you is being sent to someone who is not legally authorised to view it.
In order to make a valid claim after an email is sent to the wrong person, you must prove that a data controller or processor committed wrongful conduct leading to you suffering harm or loss.
If you would like our expert solicitors to help you claim data breach compensation, get in touch at any time suitable for you. Our advisors are available to chat 24/7.
The Effects Of A Data Breach
A data breach can have many negative consequences. Firstly a victim may lose money or assets because of a data breach. For example, if a victim’s email address is shared, fraudsters may use it to target them for phishing scams. Secondly, the data breach victim may experience distress because an organisation breached their personal information.
In extreme circumstances, for example, if a medical data breach reveals data concerning a victim’s health, this can create problems at work or in their personal life. So, the victim may develop mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Examples Of How Confidential Information Could Be Sent To The Wrong Email Address
There are various ways that your confidential information could be sent to the wrong email address. Some examples of how this could occur include:
- Someone could fail to check whether the email is being sent to the correct recipient, this could be due to autofill or a typing error.
- The wrong file is attached to an email, meaning someone else has unauthorised access to your confidential information.
- An organisation selects the incorrect email recipient due to you both having similar names.
If you have evidence that your confidential information was sent to the wrong email address, and you would like to know whether you could be eligible to make a claim for compensation, you can contact our advisors. They can assess your case for free and answer any additional questions that you may have. Additionally, they may also be able to connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors if it seems like you may have a strong claim.
Is Sending An Email To The Wrong Person A Data Breach?
You might be wondering, ‘is sharing an email address a breach of GDPR under UK legislation?’. When you give permission to an organisation to use and share your personal data, sometimes this may mean that if they share your email address, it would not be classed as an email data breach.
However, if you do not give permission for an organisation to share your personal data, such as an email address, and it is shared unlawfully, this may be considered a data breach.
For example, an organisation sending an email to the wrong person by accidentally CC’ing them into an email meant for you could be considered a data breach. If this caused you some form of psychological or financial harm, you could potentially claim compensation.
If you have been affected by an email data breach, get in touch to find out how our expert solicitors could help you claim data breach compensation.
My Confidential Information Was Sent To The Wrong Email Address – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
If your confidential information was sent to the wrong email address, and you meet the eligibility requirements to make a personal data breach claim, you’ll need to take action within the limitation period.
Typically, you have six years to start your claim. However, if you are making your claim against a public body, this time limit is reduced to one year.
One of the many benefits of working with a solicitor on your claim is that they can ensure that your case is filed within the correct limitation period. You can contact our advisors today to see if you could be eligible to work with one of our solicitors. They could also help answer any questions you may have about making a personal data breach claim for a breach of the UK GDPR.
Can I Claim If My Confidential Information Was Sent To The Wrong Email Address?
An organisation might have breached your data protection rights if your confidential information was sent to the wrong email address. However, you may wonder if this constitutes a personal data breach. You could potentially have a valid claim for data breach compensation if you have evidence to prove the following:
- Firstly, you will need to prove that an organisation breached your data because it did not take enough steps to prevent the data breach. For example, there were no data security policies in place to ensure the integrity of your personal data.
- Secondly, your personal or personally sensitive information was included in a data breach.
- Thirdly, you must prove that the data breach caused you distress or psychological injuries. On the other hand, you may have lost money or assets because of the data breach.
Call our helpline today, and an advisor can look into your case.
What Evidence Can Help Me Prove A Claim After Confidential Information Was Sent To The Wrong Email Address?
If you are looking to claim compensation because your confidential information has been sent to the wrong email address, then you will need evidence to support your case. Your case will need to prove that:
- A data breach has occurred that involved your personal information.
- It has harmed you financially and/or psychologically.
- The data breach occurred due to an organisation’s actions on inactions.
If your personal data was compromised in an email that was sent to the wrong person, some examples of the evidence you could collect to help support your case include:
- A confirmation letter or email from the organisation responsible confirming that your personal data was breached.
- Any correspondence with the responsible organisation regarding what personal data has been breached.
- Evidence of any psychological harm you have suffered, such as a copy of your medical records confirming any diagnosis you have received.
- Evidence of any financial losses you have suffered, such as a copy of your debit card or bank statements.
To learn more about when you could be eligible to make a claim for a UK GDPR breach that compromised your personal data, you can contact our advisors.
Compensation For A Data Protection Breach
If you have a valid claim for a compromise of your personal data, you may wish to see some data breach compensation examples. In this section, we are going to examine how compensation for a data protection breach could be awarded.
You could be compensated for non-material damage and material damage. Non-material damage is claimed if you suffered harm to your mental health because of the compromise of your personal data.
Material damage compensates for any financial losses you suffered because of the breach of your personal data. For example, if a criminal was able to access your bank account and take out credit in your name. However, you will be expected to present evidence, such as bank or credit card statements or a credit report.
There are some cases you should be aware of if you are seeking a data breach compensation amount. In the Vidal-Hall and others v. Google Inc. (2015), the Court of Appeal ruled that you can claim for any psychological suffering caused by the data breach without showing that you also suffered financial loss. After this ruling, you can claim for both material and non-material damage or either.
In another claim from 2015, the Gulati and Others v. MGN Limited case, it was ruled that a psychiatric injury in data breach claims can be valued in the same way as personal injury claims. We look at this next.
Non-Material Damage
As stated above, your non-material damage will be assigned value in the same way as psychological harm in a personal injury claim. When legal professionals are assigning value in personal injury claims, they use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them. The JCG is a document that lists injuries with compensation brackets.
We’ve included psychiatric damage from the latest update in our table below. It should be noted that every claim is different, therefore, our table cannot give you the exact value of your claim. Also note that the first entry is an estimated figure that is not based on the JCG.
| Impact On Mental Health | Notes On This Injury | Compensation Guidelines From The JC |
|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Psychological Harm And Financial Losses | The amount of compensation a claimant could receive will depend on the impact the breach has had on different aspects of their life including their relationships, work and general life. | Up to £250,000+ |
| Mental Health Injury - Severe | There is a poor chance of recovering from the injury and multiple parts of the person's life could be impacted. | £54,830 - £115,730 |
| Mental Health Injury - Moderately Severe | There have been difficulties in being able to cope with different parts of the person's life. Generally, the prognosis is more optimistic. | £19,070 - £54,830 |
| Mental Health Injury - Moderate | There could be a good prognosis as well as improvements in the person’s ability to cope with life. | £5,860 - £19,070 |
| Mental Health Injury - Less Severe | There is a period of disability from which the claimant recovers. | £1,540 - £5,860 |
| Reactive Disorder (Psychiatric) - Severe | This person is not likely to return to functioning at their pre-trauma level. | £59,860 - £100,670 |
| Reactive Disorder (Psychiatric) - Moderately Severe | With professional help they could recover to some degree. However, for the foreseeable future they may have a significant disability. | £23,150 - £59,860 |
| Reactive Disorder (Psychiatric) - Moderate | Recovery will have largely occurred, though some effects could persist. | £8,180 - £23,150 |
| Reactive Disorder (Psychiatric) - Less Severe | Almost a total recovery will have been or will be made. | £3,950 - £8,180 |
If you would like any help with our compensation calculator or have any questions about what could be included in your claim, please call our advisors for free legal advice.
Contact Us To Start A No Win No Fee Claim
If you are seeking compensation because confidential information was sent in an email to the wrong person, then a solicitor who has experience with data breach claims can help you navigate the process.
Here at Legal Expert, we can potentially provide a data breach solicitor to handle your case if it’s valid. All our solicitors work under No Win No Fee agreements. Getting support from a solicitor under such an agreement can provide several benefits.
If you start a claim with a No Win No Fee data breach solicitor, you could be offered a Conditional Fee Agreement. This means that you will not pay any upfront legal fees. Instead, you will normally only pay your solicitor for their service on the condition that your data breach claim is successful.
The success fee is paid out of your compensation payment, so you won’t have to worry about finding the funds upfront. You normally don’t need to pay your solicitor’s legal fees if the claim goes ahead but is unsuccessful.
So, if you are looking for advice should your personal confidential information be sent to the wrong email address in the UK, contact Legal Expert today. To learn more about making a No Win No Fee claim, please read our online guide. On the other hand:
- Dial 0800 073 8804 to speak to a claims advisor
- Use the online claims contact form to write to us
- Or ask Legal Expert a question using the Live Support widget
Related Articles For Confidential Information Sent To The Wrong Email Address
This information may be useful if you wish to learn more about data protection.
- Failure To Use Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) On Email
- A Company Email Shared My Personal Information
- If you work for a school or if your personal data held by a school is shared by email, you could make a data breach claim against that school.
- Is Sharing an Email Address A Breach Of GDPR?
- How To Report A Data Breach Incident
- Data Protection: rights for data subjects – a UK government guide
- Your right of access – information from the ICO on making a Subject Access Request
- Does an organisation need my consent? – a guide from the ICO
We appreciate you taking the time to read our guide on what to do if your confidential information was sent to the wrong email address.
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