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Solicitors Lost My Medical Records – Can I Claim Compensation?
By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated March 2024. This guide will explain the steps you could take to claim compensation if your solicitors lost your medical records.
Solicitors lost medical records claims guide
In this article, we will explain how the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) work together to protect UK residents’ personal data.
We will also discuss the definition of a personal data breach, as well as how the legislation above grants you the ability to claim compensation.
Our advisors are on hand to help if you have any further questions about making a claim if your solicitors lost your medical records. They can offer free legal advice, and can help you identify if your claim is valid. They may then connect you with one of our solicitors. To learn more:
- Call our helpline on 0800 073 8804
- Start your claim online
- Or you can use the support widget to ask us a question
Select A Section
- What Are Medical Records Data Breaches?
- How Could Solicitors Have Lost My Medical Records?
- Does The UK GDPR Protect Health Data?
- How Could I Be Impacted if My Solicitors Lost My Medical Records?
- What Could I Claim If Solicitors Lost My Medical Records?
- Can You Use No Win No Fee Agreements To Claim Against Solicitors?
What Are Medical Records Data Breaches?
A medical records data breach is a security incident compromising the availability, integrity or confidentiality of the personal data held in your medical records. Personal data is any information that could be used to identify you as a living person. For example, your name is an example of personal data, and so is your email address.
Data controllers and processors are both bound by the UK GDPR and the DPA. Data controllers are responsible for deciding why and how to use your personal data. Then, the data processor follows the controller’s instructions in order to process this data. If the controller or processor fails to adhere to data protection legislation, this could lead to a personal data breach.
However, not every personal data breach can lead to a successful claim. Read on to learn more about the criteria for claiming, or get in touch today if your solicitors lost your medical records.
How Could Solicitors Have Lost My Medical Records?
The UK GDPR outlines who can make a valid compensation claim. To make a claim, the breach must occur because of the data controller or processor’s wrongful conduct. It must also cause you to suffer harm.
With this in mind, some examples of ways your solicitors could have lost your medical records include:
- Misdelivery: A solicitor sends your medical records to the wrong postage address
- Lost data: Your personal data is lost on public transport, such as a bus or train
- Stolen data: Medical records containing your personal data are stolen as a result of poor physical security or inadequate cybersecurity policies
Can I Sue For Lost Medical Records?
As stated above, if you would like to claim for a data breach, you must be able to prove the data controller’s or processor’s wrongful conduct. This is in addition to having evidence that proves you suffered because of the breach of your personal data. You may like to know what evidence could support your case for lost medical records compensation in the UK.
Following a breach of your personal data, the controller must inform you without undue delay. For example, if a solicitor lost your documents, you may be informed of this through an email. This email could support your claim for data breach compensation.
In addition, the data breach may have been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO upholds information rights in the UK. If the ICO has investigated and confirmed a data breach occurred, this could be helpful. Additionally, the organisation that breached the data must report it to the ICO within 72 hours of awareness.
If you suspect your personal data has been compromised, you can complain to the organisation. Any correspondence between yourself and the organisation that has confirmation of your personal data’s compromise can also be submitted.
If you ask, ‘can I sue for lost medical records?’, you must also have evidence supporting the harm you suffered. For example, if you are claiming for stress due to a data breach, you will have to submit medical evidence. Additionally, you might be asked to attend an independent medical exam to support your claim.
If you are claiming for your financial losses, you will be expected to prove these. For example, you could submit bank statements.
Call our advisors to learn more about when you can claim for a data breach.
Health-Related Data Breach Statistics
The Information Commissioner’s Office is a public body in the UK that upholds data protection legislation.
According to the ICO’s data security incident trends, which are collated and published based on reports made to them, there were 9,743 data security incidents reported in 2021. Of this number, 1,911 incidents were reported within the health sector.
To learn more about the steps you can take if your solicitors lost your medical records, get in touch with our advisors today.
Does The UK GDPR Protect Health Data?
As we have previously mentioned, personal data is any information that could identify you as a living person. But, this is also includes special category data. Special category data covers personal data that is sensitive in nature, and data protection legislation affords this kind of data extra security.
Health data is a kind of special category data. This includes your medical records, and information about any medical conditions you have.
All data controllers must establish a lawful basis before they process any of your personal data, which is outlined in Article 6 of the UK GDPR. However, in order to process your special category data, the controller must establish a separate condition for processing under Article 9 of the UK GDPR.
If your solicitors lost your medical records, and this caused you to experience harm, you may be able to claim compensation. Get in touch today to learn more.
How Could I Be Impacted If My Solicitors Lost My Medical Records?
A personal data breach can have significant negative effects on your daily life and your wellbeing, both mentally and financially.
For example, your medical records going missing could lead them being potentially Moreover, the incident may harm your mental health, especially if you have pre-existing mental health problems, which could worsen under the stress of a data breach.
Moreover, a personal data could cause financial losses. For example, if your data gets into the wrong hands, fraudsters could use the information to target you for fraud. Consequently, you could suffer material losses as a result. If you had to take unpaid time off work to recover from your psychological injuries, you might have suffered a loss of earnings.
If your solicitors lost your medical records and this harmed you, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Please get in touch with our advisors to learn more.
What Could I Claim If Solicitors Lost My Medical Records?
You may wonder how much compensation you can receive for lost medical records. The outcome of every claim is different, which means that the amount you could receive can vary. But, this table can help you get a broad idea of how much data breach compensation you could receive in terms of non-material damage compensation. This is the area of harm that covers the psychological impacts of the breach.
| Injury | Notes | Guideline Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychological Damage | The person suffers severe effects. Their ability to cope with multiple different aspects of their life has been seriously reduced. | £54,830 to £115,730 |
| Moderately Severe Psychological Damage | Symptoms are similar to the above bracket, though the prognosis is more optimistic. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
| Moderate Psychological Damage | There is a better prognosis in this bracket. Symptoms show a degree of improvement. | £5,860 to £19,070 |
| Less Severe Psychological Damage | The impact that symptoms have on both sleep and other daily activities is considered in this bracket. | £1,540 to £5,860 |
| Severe PTSD | As a result of the severe symptoms, the person affected is unable to work or function as they would have before the trauma. | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| Moderately Severe PTSD | Professional help may improve this person’s prognosis and condition. | £23,150 to £59,860 |
| Moderate PTSD | While a large recovery occurs, some symptoms may remain. However, these symptoms will not be grossly disabling. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| Less Severe PTSD | The person should recover almost fully, and the only symptoms that remain are minor. | £3,950 to £8,180 |
This compensation table uses figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document that solicitors use to help them value settlement amounts. Please note that these amounts are not guarantees; they are simply guidelines.
Material damage is the second area of harm that you could receive compensation for. This addresses the financial impacts of the breach, for example, damage to your credit score, or money stolen from your bank account.
To learn more about compensation in personal data breach claims, get in touch today.
Can You Use No Win No Fee Claim Agreements To Claim Against Solicitors?
If you are interested in making a claim because your solicitors lost your medical records, a No Win No Fee agreement could be of use to you. Our solicitors could provide you with their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a kind of No Win No Fee arranagement.
With a CFA, you typically do not have to pay your solicitor for their work. If your claim succeeds, then the only fee required is a success fee. This legally-capped percentage is taken directly from your compensation. But, if your claim fails, then you are generally not required to pay your solicitor for their services.
Get in touch today to find out if one of our solicitors could help you:
- Call our helpline on 0800 073 8804
- Start your claim online
- Or you can use the support widget to ask us a question
Related Breaches Of Health Data
These guides might be helpful to you if another party breaches your data.
- Disability And Health Information Disclosed – Can I Make A Data Breach Claim?
- A Guide To Making A Medication Data Breach Claim
- How To Make An Anxiety Data Breach Claim
- A General Guide To Data Breach Compensation
- Brentwood Borough Council
- East Suffolk Council
- Sickness At Work Data Breach Compensation Claims
- The Police Sent My Personal Data To Someone Else, Can I Claim?
- Foster Care Data Breach Claims
Or, for more resources:
- ICO – Does an organisation need my consent?
- GOV – Your data protection rights
- NHS – Generalised Anxiety Disorder
For more information on what to do if your solicitors have lost your medical records, resulting in harm, get in touch with our team today.
Written by Chelache
Edited by Hampton
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