Children’s Services Data Breach – Case Study

This guide will discuss when a claim following a children’s services data breach could be justified. If a data breach occurs that affects children’s personal information, it could cause several issues. For example, a breach of personal data can have both a financial and mental impact.

Children’s services data breach claims guide

Organisations have a responsibility to protect your personal data as per data protection law. We will explore their responsibilities in further detail throughout this guide.

Additionally, we will explore examples of how data breaches could occur and what steps could be taken following this type of incident. 

Furthermore, we’ll explore the option of seeking legal representation by working with a solicitor who offers their services on a No Win No Fee basis. This can provide those looking to hire a solicitor with a way to fund legal representation without paying upfront or ongoing costs.

To learn more about making a data breach claim, continue reading our guide. Alternatively, contact our advisors for more information. Our team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To get in touch:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Send a message through the live chat feature
• Complete the contact form

Select A Section

1. What Is A Children’s Services Data Breach?
2. What Organisations Could Breach Your Data?
3. Who Could Claim If A Child’s Data Is Breached?
4. Children’s Services Data Breach Case Study
5. Average Settlements For Breaching A Child’s Personal Data
6. Learn About No Win No Fee Solicitors

What Is A Children’s Services Data Breach?

A personal data breach involves a security incident causing your personal data to become destroyed, altered or lost in an accidental or unlawful way. It can also involve an unauthorised person accessing or disclosing your personal information. Whether the breach occurs accidentally or with criminal intent, compensation could be sought if an organisation’s failings caused personal data to become compromised leading to financial loss or mental harm.

There are key roles involved in the protection of your personal data, such as:

• Data controller: The controller decides how and why they are going to process your personal data. They can also process this data themselves.
• Data processor: The processor is responsible for acting on behalf of the data controller.

Both the data controller and data processor are responsible for protecting your personal data. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and an updated version of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) work alongside each other to set out the responsibilities a controller and processor has. Additionally, the UK GDPR provides those who have been affected by a personal data breach, the right to seek compensation for the damage they were caused.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) are an independent UK body that upholds the rights and freedoms of data subjects. They can also take enforcement action against organisations that breach data protection law. 

Please remember that if you have any questions about a children’s services data breach claim while reading this guide, you can call our advisors for free legal advice.

What Organisations Could Breach Your Data?

There are multiple companies and organisations that may have access to children’s personal data. Some of these may include:

• Social services
• Children’s charities
• School, nursery and college
• The local council or local authority

A personal data breach can occur for many reasons. They can happen as a result of cyber attacks if computer security systems aren’t updated regularly, making it easier for cyber criminals to hack the system.

They could also occur as a result of human error. This could happen if employers fail to train staff on how to handle personal information safely and securely. For example:

• An employee leaves their computer screen unlocked with sensitive data on the screen. As a result, another unauthorised employee gains access to the information.
• Colleagues discuss sensitive information in a public area.
• An email with personal information attached is sent to the wrong recipient.

Measures should be implemented to prevent these incidents from taking place. However, if an organisation failed to do so, leading to personal data becoming compromised and causing the person financial loss or mental harm. a claim could be made for data breach compensation. Learn more about who could claim if a child’s data is breached in the section below.

Who Could Claim If A Child’s Data Is Breached?

The criteria for being eligible to make a personal data breach claim includes:

• An organisation failed to protect your personal data
• Your personal data was compromised as a result
• This led to you experiencing financial loss or mental harm.

Additionally, there is a general time limit of 6 years to start a data breach claim. However, the time limit is reduced to 1 year when claiming against a public body.

For more information on who could make a claim following a children’s services data breach, get in touch on the number above.

Children’s Services Data Breach Case Study

Below, we have created a fictional case study to illustrate the process of claiming compensation for a children’s services data breach.

An employee was tasked with sending an email to a family, who recently had a social worker assigned to them, containing information about the next steps that needed to be taken to help the family. The email contained the children’s name, details of the school they attended, their address, ages and information relating to their health.

However, the employee sent the email to the wrong person. As a result, various types of personal data were compromised, including sensitive data. This led to the children experiencing anxiety, stress and distress because of their personal information being accidentally disclosed to another person.

The family was eligible to seek compensation after the organisation’s failings led to their children’s personal data being compromised and caused them mental harm.

Average Settlements For Breaching A Child’s Data Privacy

When making a data breach claim, you could seek compensation for material damage and non-material damage. Each of these compensate for the different ways in which the personal data breach affected you. For example:

• You can seek compensation for material damage which covers the financial losses you suffered as a result of the personal data breach. This could include loans taken out in your name due to having your bank details stolen.
• You can seek compensation for non-material damage which covers the psychological damage you sustained due to the personal data breach. For example, anxiety, distress, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

You can claim for non-material damage independently of material damage. The non-material damage head of claim is often calculated with help from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a publication containing a list of compensation brackets alongside different types of mental harm.

We have included these figures in the table below. However, you should only use them as a guide because the actual settlement you receive could differ from what’s listed.

Alternatively, you could use our compensation calculator to get an estimate of how much your claim is worth. Or, you can speak with a member of our team. They can assess your children’s services data breach case and provide a free valuation of your claim. 

Learn About No Win No Fee Solicitors

You may be eligible to work with one of our solicitors under a No Win No Fee agreement. There are different types, including a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which our solicitors can offer.

Under a CFA, generally, there are no upfront or ongoing costs for the services your solicitor provides. Additionally, you don’t need to pay them for the services they have provided you with if your case is unsuccessful.

For successful claims, a success fee is taken from your compensation. This is taken as a percentage which is subject to a legal cap.

An advisor could assign one of our data breach protection solicitors to represent your case under a CFA, if they find its valid and has a chance of success. For more information, get in touch by: 

• Filling out the contact form
• Calling us on 0800 073 8804
• Contacting an advisor via the live chat feature

Learn More About Children’s Services Data Breach Claims

Here are some external links that may help:

• ICO: Your data matters
• GOV: Cyber Security Breaches Survey
• National Cyber Security Centre: Guidance for data breaches

More of our guides are available here:

• An administrator breached my data privacy, can I claim compensation?
• HR data breaches compensation claims 
• Stalker data breach compensation claims
• To learn all about the Norfolk And Suffolk Police data breach, head here. You can find information on making a compensation claim, how the breach happened, and who’s been impacted.

We hope this guide exploring whether a claim could be made following a children’s services data breach has helped. If you need any other information, call our team on the number above.

Written by Allerton

Edited by Mitchell