£15,000 settlement for a social services data breach

The team at Your Lawyers secured a £15,000 settlement for a social services data breach that resulted in significant distress to our client, arising from an avoidable disclosure event.

This case was another example where information was disclosed by social services that should not have been disclosed in the first place. Unfortunately, the result was catastrophic for our client. We are satisfied that we were able to secure a settlement as some form of justice for what they had to go through.

£15,000 settlement for a social services data breach

Our leading team of privacy claims experts were successful in securing a £15,000 settlement for a social services data breach that involved the particularly delicate disclosure of information.

In this matter, our client had confidentially disclosed information to social services with regard to genuine concerns in respect of a safeguarding matter. Social services should have treated the disclosure with strict confidence given that the report of information was particularly sensitive in the context. Unfortunately, despite our client specifically requesting assurances from social services that the information disclosed would remain confidential, the client was notified that their identity had been subsequently provided to the persons at the centre of the disclosure that had been made. The result was that this significantly destabilised our client’s relations and caused significant distress.

The importance of handling confidential data correctly

This settlement for a social services data breach highlights the significant impact that can occur when particularly confidential information is misused. The impact this had on our client was substantial, as we referenced above. Our client’s identity should never have been provided in respect of the social services report that was subsequently issued, nor was it required to be provided.

Social services have an incredibly important responsibility to look after the information they store and process, given that some of it is very sensitive and personal. Despite this, we routinely represent clients in council and social services data breach matters, many of which arise from completely avoidable incidents.

The importance of specialist privacy legal representation

In a case where we have secured a settlement for a social services breach in the sum of £15,000 – which is a significant pay-out – it is a stark reminder about the importance of data breach victims instructing the right legal team for help. Data breach compensation remains a fairly new and emerging area of law, and many law firms have only recently started looking into these cases, whereas our legal team has been representing clients for privacy breaches for close to a decade.

It is important to make this distinction because we are leading experts in this niche and complex area of law, owing to our experience. This is how we are able to secure significant settlements on behalf of our clients, as we are aware that some other law firms have lacked the experience and legal clout to be able to pursue better results.

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