Healthcare data breach cases: what you need to do

Healthcare data breach cases are still one of the most common types of compensation claims that we represent people for on a No Win, No Fee basis.

As a leading firm of data breach legal experts, we’re representing thousands of clients for individual cases, and in some of the biggest group and multi-party actions the UK has ever seen. Many of those that we represent are for medical data breach cases because of how common they are. The impact for the victim can be substantial which is why many people will claim compensation. Also, the sector is  prime target for cybercriminals.

Here’s what you need to do if you have been the victim of a healthcare data breach and how we may be able to help you.

Why are healthcare data breach cases common?

Healthcare data breach cases can be common for a number of reasons. These include:

• Practically most people in the UK will have some medical data stored somewhere. As such, it affects pretty much the entire population. The greater the volume of information, the more likely it could be to end up involved in a breach;
• Data is spread across multiple organisations, from hundreds of GP practices to the hundreds of NHS Trusts across the UK. Different organisations work in different ways which can mean there is a disparity in terms of how secure information could be. Not all staff may be as well trained as others, and not all cybersecurity could be as good as in other places;
• Cyberattacks often target the healthcare sector because the information is valuable. It can be valuable to use for fraud and theft, and it can be valuable to sell on the dark web for the same reasons. It can also be valuable enough to push an organisation into paying a ransom from ransomware to avoid the fallout of a breach as well.

One cyberattack that gets passed a single security flaw could yield the data for hundreds of thousands of people. Millions of people’s medical data has been exposed or misused at some time around the world, and we often see news of private companies being regularly hit. Cyberattacks are getting more sophisticated, and we saw how bad a single incident can be with the 2017 WannaCry incident still fresh in our minds.

Many people claim for the impact

Another important factor as to why there are so many healthcare data breach cases is that the impact for the victim can be severe. This is because medical data tends to be precisely the kind of information that we want to be kept safe and secure. We want control over it, and we do not want other people to know about it.

As such, victims can be more likely to be distressed by this kind of information breach. This can mean that they are more inclined to want to make a claim, and data breach compensation amounts do reflect the severity of the impact for the victim.

When you claim, you can receive compensation for the loss of control of your personal information. We have seen the severe impact in infamous examples like the 56 Dean Street Clinic case we have represented many victims for.

Free, no-obligation advice

We offer free and no-obligation advice for healthcare data breach cases.

To speak to the team, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.

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