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Medication Data Breach Claim Guide
Medication Data Breach Claim Guide
This guide will look at whether it is possible to make a medication data breach claim. A pharmacy, GP or dental surgery, a hospital or a private health care facility all may hold data about the treatments you have received and what medication has been provided. Under data protection legislation, medical data that is considered personal, such as information about medical conditions, tests or treatment or data that reveals anything about someone’s health, is given added protection.
In this guide, we’ll discuss what to do if your medical records are breached. Furthermore, we’ll explain the data breach claims process and how No Win No Fee solicitors could help you get the compensation you might be entitled to.
We’ll also answer some questions you may have, including:
- “What are the consequences of a medical data breach?”
- “How do I report a data breach?”
- “Can I sue the NHS for a data breach?”
However, before we begin, you might want to know about the various legislation in place that protects your data from being mishandled or misused.
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 controls how your personal data can be used and how it should be protected. These pieces of legislation only protect personal data. Health data is considered a type of personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) enforces data protection laws and investigates potential breaches.
To contact us, you may:
- Call our 24/7 claims line on 0800 073 8804
- Speak to an online claims advisor via our live chat function
- Complete the claim online form and we’ll call you back free of charge
Select A Section
- What Is A Medication Data Breach Claim?
- Types Of Medication Data Breaches
- What Are The Consequences Of A Medication Data Breach?
- Can I Sue The NHS For A Data Breach?
- What Is The Average Medication Data Breach Claim Payout?
- No Win No Fee Solicitors For Data Breach Claims
What Is A Medication Data Breach Claim?
According to data protection law, personal data breaches are security incidents that affect the availability, confidentiality or integrity of an individual’s personal information. An incident may result in accidental or unlawful access to, alteration, destruction, loss or unauthorised disclosure of someone’s personal data.
Personal data is any information that may identify a person, such as their name, address, email address or phone number. Some personal information is considered more sensitive, such as your health data or information on your ethnicity, and requires more protection under UK GDPR.
What is a medication data breach claim? Lots of medical data or health data is considered personal data. If you can prove how personal data relating to your medication was breached because those who had a responsibility to protect this type of data failed to adhere to data protection law you may be able to claim for the harm you have suffered.
The below entities must comply with data protection laws.
- The data controller: Decides how and why your data is collected and processed. In your situation, it might be a pharmacy or hospital.
- The data processor: Responsible for processing data on the controller’s behalf. Usually, a third party external to the data controller.
When a data breach affects your personal data, you might suffer financial losses or psychological injuries as a result.
Healthcare Sector Data Breach Statistics
The latest data security incidents reported to the ICO in the 4th financial quarter of 2021/22 found that:
- The health sector was the most affected by data security incidents
- There were 427 incidents reported
- Unauthorised access to personal data was the most common incident type
Our advisors can offer a consultation on your case completely free of charge and with no obligation to continue.
Types Of Medication Data Breaches
Whilst criminal activity may lead to breached patient data, for example, cybercriminals may target data through phishing scams or ransomware threats, human errors can also result in personal data breaches. Here are some examples:
- Failure to use BCC where appropriate: If a sexual health clinic fails to use BCC when sending out emails to patients, other recipients may see each other’s names and email addresses.
- Misdelivery of data: If a psychologist has your correct email address on file, but accidentally sends an email containing your personal information to the wrong recipient, that data may be accessed by someone who is unauthorised.
- Loss or theft of paperwork: Documentation regarding your medical data should be stored securely by hospital staff. However, a breach could occur if staff accidentally forgot to lock a cabinet that contains your files, allowing someone to steal this information and result in a loss of medical records.
Your situation may not be listed above, however you still may be able to make a medication data breach claim. Speak to an advisor and they can offer you free legal advice.
What Are The Consequences Of A Medication Data Breach?
If personal information about your medication is breached, then others may gain access to it which can reveal information about any medical conditions that you are suffering from. When data is breached that reveals something about your health, a personal data breach has occurred.
Quite clearly, this can be a very distressing time. You might suffer psychological harm, or any mental health conditions you are suffering from may be exasperated by the breach. If health data is leaked, you might be left feeling stressed or suffering symptoms of an anxiety disorder. For example, you might feel worried or left in fear, which may result in you struggling to sleep or eat.
We’ll discuss what you might receive for any financial loss or emotional harm in a medication data breach claim later on in this guide.
Can I Sue The NHS For A Data Breach?
What could potentially be an NHS data breach? Data breaches can happen for a variety of different reasons. As we have explained, some are accidental, while others can be deliberate, intentional actions.
The following entities may be considered data controllers under data protection law;
- NHS Trusts
- Hospitals
- GP surgeries
- Opticians
- Pharmacies
- Dentists
- Private healthcare companies
If a data controller has ensured they have thoroughly complied with data protection laws in order to keep your personal and personally sensitive data safe, then should a data breach affect them, it is not likely that they will be liable.
You can only make a medication data breach claim if the information that has been breached is considered personal data. It must be able to identify you or be used in conjunction with other data to identify you. It must also be proven that the data controller or processor failed in their legal obligation to take the necessary steps in keeping your personal data secure.
Our advisors can go through the data breach compensation claims process and are available via our live chat window on your screen.
What Is The Average Medication Data Breach Claim Payout?
You might wonder how much compensation you could get when making a personal data breach claim. Solicitors will take into account any material and non-material damage to value your claim. Whilst material damage deals with financial losses caused by a data breach, non-material damage relates to any psychological harm you have suffered.
In Vidal-Hall and others v. Google Inc. (2015), the Court of Appeal decided that you can make a claim for non-material damage alone.
To calculate your potential compensation, we may apply the Judicial College Guidelines. Legal professionals use the JCG to value injuries. We’ve taken compensation ranges from the 16th edition. Please be advised the figures below are just guidelines.
| Injury | Compensation Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychiatric Damage Generally | £54,830 to £115,730 | Relationships, work life and family life will all be greatly impacted in a permanent way. |
| Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage Generally | £19,070 to £54,830 | The prognosis is better than above but symptoms still have a significant impact. |
| Moderate Psychiatric Damage Generally | £5,860 to £19,070 | There will largely be some good improvements and a good outlook on the future. |
| Less Severe Psychiatric Damage Generally | £1,540 to £5,860 | Daily activities and sleep impact will play a major part in the amount of compensation that is awarded. |
| Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £59,860 to £100,670 | It’s unlikely that you are able to work and all aspects of your life are affected. |
| Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £23,150 to £59,860 | Significant disability is likely to persist in the future due to the impact of symptoms. |
| Moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £8,180 to £23,150 | Continuing effects are not too grossly disabling. |
| Less Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £3,950 to £8,180 | Anticipate a full recovery by two years. |
Our advisors can assess your case for free and could even provide an estimate of what you could claim. If they can see that the data controller is liable for the personal data breach, they could connect you with one of our data breach solicitors.
No Win No Fee Solicitors For Data Breach Claims
A No Win No Fee arrangement is another name for a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). An arrangement like this usually means no upfront fees. If the claim is won, you will be charged a success fee which is taken from the award but is capped by law. If the case loses no success fee to pay.
If you think you would benefit from using a CFA solicitor, speak to an advisor and they can verify your eligibility to work with us. Furthermore, our advisors can offer free legal advice and answer any questions regarding a data breach claim.
To contact us, you may:
- Call our 24/7 claims line on 0800 073 8804
- Speak to an online claims advisor via our live chat function
- Complete the claim online form and we’ll call you back free of charge
Related Medical Data Breach Claims
Please find below some more of our guides and additional resources that you may find useful in regards to making medication data breach claims:
- Can I Claim After A GP Data Breach?
- Can I Claim Compensation for Loss of Medical Records?
- How To Make A Psychologist Data Breach Claim
- NHS advice on how to get your medical records
- The latest figures from the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022
- The ICO explains why your data matters
That concludes our guide on medication data breach claims. If you are ready to take action, we could support you every step of the way.
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