Last Updated 23rd July 2024. This guide aims to help you understand how much a data breach claim could be worth. Firstly, you will need to learn what a data breach is. We explain this, alongside examples.
If you would like to claim compensation, you will need to prove your data has been breached due to a failure on the part of the data controller or data processor. We also explain who the data controller and data processor are.
Then we explore the legislation in place designed to help keep your personal data secure. In addition, we look at what data an organisation might hold in both digital and paper form. We also examine the statistics of data breaches.
Take a look at the damages you could claim compensation for with this guide. We provide definitions and examples of both material and non-material damage.
Finally, we explore how No Win No Fee solicitors take data breach claims for compensation.
Call us today on 0330 0434072 or ask how to make a claim online for dedicated help from an advisor.
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Choose A Section
- How Much Is A Data Breach Claim Worth?
- What Are Data Breaches?
- How Do Data Breaches Happen?
- Average Payouts For Data Breach Claims
- What Does A No Win No Fee Solicitor Do?
- Further Information – How Much Is A Data Breach Claim Worth?
How Much Is A Data Breach Claim Worth?
If your personal data has been breached, you might ask ‘how much is a data breach claim worth?’ The UK has laws in place to protect personal information that is processed by organisations. Your personal data that is collected must be kept secure by the data controller or data processor as we discuss in this guide.
Organisations that decide why and how they need to process our personal information are generally data controllers. These could include anybody from a healthcare provider to a shopping website. Data processors are parties that data controllers sometimes use to process personal data on their behalf.
Personal data is information that can identify you, whether along with other data or directly. Data collected could be medical records, banking details, home addresses, email addresses, and screen names amongst other identifiers.
If your data was breached due to a failure on the part of those responsible for protecting your personal information, you might be able to claim compensation. You will need to supply evidence that your personal data was breached, however. This could include an email from the data controller informing you of a data breach.
You also need to show that you suffered as a result of the data breach. This could involve financial loss or mental harm.
Contact our advisors to discuss the evidence you could submit in a data breach claim.
What Are Data Breaches?
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) defines a data breach as breaches of security that lead to the accidental or unlawful disclosure of, access to or alteration of, loss of, destruction of personal data. This means that if your personal data held by an organisation is lost, stolen, altered or destroyed, a breach could have occurred. This could be information that is held digitally or physically.
You might enter your personal information, such as your name and address on a website. The data controller or processor may hold onto this information. If you don’t opt into marketing, for example, this could be considered a data breach if you then start receiving marketing emails.
An organisation, such as a doctor’s surgery, may hold a paper file on you that contains your health information along with your name, phone number and address. Through mishandling, the file could be left in an unlocked filing cabinet resulting in it being stolen. This is considered a data breach.
Data Protection Laws
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 are examples of data protection legislation. These regulations set out how companies can handle your personal data. If the inability to abide by data security laws, for example, on behalf of the data controller or processor results in a data breach, you might be able to claim compensation.
You do not need to suffer material damage, such as a loss of credit rating, in order to claim compensation. Due to the Vidal-Hall and others v Google ruling, you could claim for non-material damage, such as psychological harm as a result of a data breach. You may wonder ‘how much is a data breach claim worth?’ We will discuss both heads of the claim in more detail later on.
Contact our advisors for free legal advice if you’ve experienced a data breach.
How Do Data Breaches Happen?
Human error, such as from skills or decision-based error, can lead to data breaches. Small mistakes that occur when the person knows the correction action can be skill-based errors. Tiredness, for example, could result in a data breach. Decision-based errors occur when the controller does not have the necessary knowledge required to make the correct decision. Inadequate training could lead to a decision-based error.
Cybercrime, such as hacking, could also lead to a data breach. Human error, such as not updating cybersecurity, could lead to cybercrime data breaches.
Data breaches could occur due to:
- Emailing or faxing the wrong person, including not using BCC in emails
- Personal information posted to the wrong address
- Failure to redact information
- Lost or stolen devices
- Failure to shred paperwork or theft of paperwork
Contact our advisors to find out if you have a potential data breach compensation claim.
What Are The Latest Data Breach Statistics?
The ICO collects information about data security trends. The third quarter 2021/22 recorded 2404 data breaches covering both non-cyber and cybersecurity issues.
Non-cyber security incidents led to:
- 16 personal data alterations
- 419 wrong email recipients
- 30 wrong data subjects shown the wrong client portal
- 181 instances of the wrong person receiving personal data posted or faxed
- 101 failures to redact information
- 83 failures to use the BCC when emailing multiple recipients
- 2 incorrect hardware disposals
- 13 incorrect paperwork disposals
- 44 devices lost or stolen
- 131 times paperwork was lost or stolen
- 84 verbal disclosures
- 262 times unauthorised access occurred
Average Payouts For Data Breach Claims
If you are reading this guide, you probably want to know how much is a data breach claim worth. The exact figure is difficult to determine without properly taking into account evidence; however, we can supply information to help you estimate.
Data breach compensation claims can include compensation for up to two potential impacts of a breach. The first is called non-material damage, and the second is material damage. We discuss each in more detail below.
Non-Material Damage
If a data breach leads to you suffering psychological harm, you could claim compensation for non-material damage. An independent medical assessment might be required to claim this compensation. This provides a more accurate view of your mental injuries.
Solicitors refer to a document titled the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help assess how much your psychological harm might be worth. Injuries are listed next to their potential compensation brackets in the JCG. We’ve included examples of potential payouts for general psychological damages, which could include anxiety and depression in the compensation table below.
| Injury | Guideline compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Significant Psychiatric Harm Plus Financial Damage | Up to £150,000+ | The payout compensates for both non-material and material damage. |
| Severe psychological injury | £66,920 to £141,240 | Inability to cope with life and personal relationships with a very poor prognosis. |
| Moderately severe psychological injury | £23,270 to £66,920 | Significant difficulties coping with personal relationships and life but with a positive prognosis. |
| Moderate psychological injury | £7,150 to £23,270 | A marked improvement following an inability to cope with life and personal relationships with a good prognosis. |
| Less severe psychological injury | £1,880 to £7,150 | A period of disability which impacts sleep and daily activities. |
| Severe anxiety disorder | £73,050 to £122,850 | Permanent symptoms which prevent functioning at pre-trauma level |
| Moderately severe anxiety disorder | £28,250 to £73,050 | Significant disability for the foreseeable future but some recovery with professional help. |
| Moderate anxiety disorder | £9,980 to £28,250 | Continuing to impact life but it is not grossly disabling. |
| Less severe anxiety disorder | £4,820 to £9,980 | Minor symptoms beyond 1-2 years but mainly recovered. |
What To Include In A Data Breach Claim
If you experience a loss of finances caused by the data breach, you could seek a payout addressing material damage.
Your bank account details being used by someone else to make online purchases, for example, is something you could claim material damage compensation for if you didn’t recover the loss. You could also claim for future losses. This could include an inability to get a mortgage in the future due to bad credit being built up in your name as a result of the data breach.
Our advisors can estimate how much compensation you may be able to claim.
What Does A No Win No Fee Solicitor Do?
You might find claiming compensation simpler with a No Win No Fee solicitor. Traditionally, using a solicitor has been expensive. You might think you do not have the financial resources to hire a lawyer following a data breach. However, a No Win No Fee arrangement can make a solicitor’s services more affordable. This can also be called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Instead of an upfront solicitor’s fee under a No Win No Fee arrangement, you pay a success fee. This is only payable if your claim is successful and will be taken from your award. It is also legally capped.
Ask Us – How Much Is A Data Breach Claim Worth?
Our advisors are standing by with free legal advice. If you find yourself wondering ‘how much is a data breach claim worth?’, you can contact them for an estimate of your damages. They are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Eligible claims could be passed onto our panel of personal injury lawyers.
- Call 0330 0434072 to start your claim today.
- You can also contact us to make a claim or get advice.
Further Information – How Much Is A Data Breach Claim Worth?
You might find the following links useful:
- Mental Health Services from the NHS
- How to Make a Data Protection Complaint Guide from the Government
- Report a Data Breach to the ICO
Below, you can find links to some of our other claims guides:
- We answer the question: How long does a data breach claim typically take?
- An explanation of how to claim GDPR compensation for distress or anxiety.
- How to find data breach claim solicitors in your area.
- An overview of data breach compensation claims and how they work.
Publisher Ruth Voss
Writer Danielle Baker
