Were your medical records lost by a solicitor? Did your legal representation lose personal medical information in a way that caused you harm? If so, this guide will explain the options you have for starting a data breach claim.
A personal data breach of your medical information has the potential to cause significant financial and emotional harm. So we start by looking at the criteria needed to launch a valid claim. We then move on to some examples of how solicitor data breaches concerning medical records can occur and showcase some guideline compensation amounts that could potentially apply if your claim is successful.
Finally, we discuss the advantages of working with a professional No Win No Fee solicitor to help through the data breach claims process. Below are some contact options for speaking to an advisor if you want to get started now. They can offer a free evaluation of your claim and could potentially connect you with a solicitor from our panel. To learn more, contact our team:
- Use the live chat feature.
- Contact us 24/7 through our website to see what you might be owed.
- Call us on 0208 050 3051
medical records lost by a solicitor claims guide
Jump To A Section
- Can You Make A Data Breach Claim If Medical Records Were Lost By A Solicitor?
- How Could Medical Records Be Lost By A Solicitor?
- Potential Lost Medical Records Compensation
- What Could You Do To Claim Lost Medical Records Compensation?
- Claim For A Solicitor Data Breach On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Claiming Compensation If Medical Records Were Lost By A Solicitor
Can You Make A Data Breach Claim If Medical Records Were Lost By A Solicitor?
The groups who work with personal data are known as data controllers and data processors. Controllers decide why and how they want to use your personal data, and processors follow the controller’s instructions to process it. Both parties need to comply with two laws regarding data rights for the public:
- The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).
When controllers or processors fail to comply with this data, this is known as wrongful conduct. A personal data breach is the accidental or deliberate loss, alteration, destruction or disclosure of your personal data to unauthorised parties.
Personal data is any information that could be used alone or in conjunction with other details to identify you, including your name, email address and contact address. Further to this, special category data is personal data that requires extra protection. This includes information regarding your medical conditions, and by extension, your medical records.
However, not every data breach will result in a claim. In order to form the basis of a valid claim, you must be able to prove that:
- The controller or processor failed to comply with the UK GDPR or DPA
- This caused a data breach that affected your personal data
- As a result, you suffered emotional and/or financial harm
You can find much more information about special category data and all aspects of data protection law from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) This is the independent watchdog for regulating data protection laws in the UK. You can also contact our team to learn more.
How Could Medical Records Be Lost By A Solicitor?
A solicitor working for you or (on the opposing side) could need to access medical records during the course of proceedings. With this in mind, the paperwork or digital information could be lost due to human error or deliberate misuse in the following ways:
- Losing court documents that contain medical data. This can be paperwork or data in a digital format like laptops, memory sticks or smartphones.
- Attaching medical records to emails by mistake or faxing your medical records to the wrong number.
- Posting case-related medical data to the wrong address and losing it.
These are just a few examples of how a data breach could occur, and yours may differ. Find out if you can make a data breach claim after a solicitor lost your medical records by contacting our advisors today.
Potential Lost Medical Records Compensation
After your medical records were lost by a solicitor, a successful claim may comprise of two heads of loss:
- Material damage compensation seeks to compensate for the financial losses caused by the data breach.
- Non-material damage compensation seeks to compensate for any psychological damage and distress created by the medical records breach. This can include depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Below is an excerpt showing guideline non-material damage compensation brackets for psychiatric and psychological injuries from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document can offer those valuing your claim a point of reference in terms of how much you could receive. Please note that these amounts are not guaranteed:
Award Compensation Guidelines
| Type of Mental Injury | Severity | Notes | Award Brackets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious Psychological Harm And Special Damages | Serious | Serious psychological harm alongside severe financial losses, such as lost earnings. | Up to £500,000+ |
| General Psychiatric/Psychological Harm | (a) Severe | A permanent and far-reaching mental health injury with very poor future prognosis. | £54,830 to £115,730 |
| General Psychiatric/Psychological Harm | (b) Moderately Severe | A severe injury that prevents a return to work but has a better predicted long-term recovery. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
| General Psychiatric/Psychological Harm | (c) Moderate | Despite initially severe symptoms, an improvement is noted after some time. | £5,860 to £19,070 |
| General Psychiatric/Psychological Harm | (d) Less Severe | Duration of illness is acknowledged in this bracket. | £1,540 to £5,860 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (a) Severe | An acute trauma response that radically affects all areas of the persons life. | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (b) Moderately Severe | A severe level of psychological injury with symptoms that improvement with professional help. | £23,150 to £59,860 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (c) Moderate | A recovery of sorts with remaining symptoms being manageable. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (d) Less Severe | Almost a complete recovery within a 2 year period with only minor symptoms persisting. | £3,950 to £8,180 |
Material damage compensation aims to compensate you for the financial harm caused by the data breach. For example, this could include:
- Lost earnings as a result of taking time off work in order to recover from psychological injuries caused by the breach
- The cost of counselling
- Damage to your credit score
- Money stolen from your bank account
In order to claim under this heading, you must have evidence of your losses. For example, this could include payslips, bank statements, and invoices. Contact our team today to learn more about the steps you could take if your medical records were lost by a solicitor.
What Could You Do To Claim Lost Medical Records Compensation?
After your personal data has been breached, if there is a risk to your rights and freedoms, the organisation responsible should report the data breach to the ICO within 72 hours of discovery. They also need to inform you by letter or email without undue delay.
If you discover the data breach yourself, you can contact the solicitor involved yourself. Should a satisfactory response not be forthcoming, wait no longer than 3 months since the last contact about the matter to make a complaint to the ICO. The ICO may investigate, and any findings by them could support your claim. But please note that they cannot provide data breach compensation. In addition to these actions, you can have your psychological injuries assessed and get copies of the findings.
You may also want to seek legal advice. Our team of advisors are here to help if you’d like to learn more about claiming and could potentially connect you with a data breach solicitor from our panel.
Claim For A Solicitor Data Breach On A No Win No Fee Basis
You may wish to use the services of a data breach solicitor but have concerns about the costs. At Data Breach Claims, a member of our team could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor on our panel, who could help you through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
There are no upfront fees required to start work with a solicitor under a CFA, nor do you pay a fee for their services as your claim goes ahead. Furthermore, if your claim fails, you aren’t required to pay any fees for their work. In the event of a successful claim, your solicitor will take a success fee directly from your compensation. This will be taken as a small, legally-capped percentage.
To discover more about how a CFA could work for you after a solicitor lost your medical records, contact our advisors today. If your claim is eligible, . You can:
- Call us on 0208 050 3051
- Use the live chat feature at the bottom of the screen.
- Contact us online to see what your claim might be worth.
Learn More About Claiming Compensation If Medical Records Were Lost By A Solicitor
You might also find the following links useful:
- What can you do after the accidental destruction of your personal data?
- Further advice on claims relating to medical data breaches.
- Lastly, what to do if your solicitor sends your documents to someone else.
These external links can help too:
- Read why your data matters from the ICO.
- Some tips for staying safe online from the government.
- As well as information on how to make a complaint from the ICO.
Thank you for reading our guide on claiming compensation if your medical records were lost by a solicitor. Please connect on the contact details above for any other questions or free advice.
Writer Jeff Walker
Publisher Cat Harley
