Our team was incredibly pleased to have achieved an award of over £10,000 pounds for a client we previously represented who was the victim of a sensitive data disclosure.
In this matter, the context was particularly important, which we will go into more detail below.
In excess of £10,000 data breach compensation settlement achieved
Our legal team was able to achieve a data breach compensation settlement in excess of £10,000 for a client who was the victim of sensitive data disclosure. In this matter, a healthcare professional disclosed information to an ex-partner of our client which, understandably, caused significant distress and problems.
For client confidentiality reasons, we cannot go into the full details as to exactly what happened and how the data breach had such a significant impact on our client. We can tell you that the sensitive data disclosure was significant enough to warrant a data breach settlement of over £10,000 in damages alone.
What is a sensitive data disclosure?
Sensitive data disclosure usually involves particularly personal information being disclosed to someone without consent, with the context of the breach a potential cause of significant distress. The example above is about information being disclosed to a former partner which can, of course, be significant in itself. Another example could be particularly sensitive healthcare information being disclosed, such as what we saw in the 56 Dean Street Clinic Leak of 2015. In that matter, we represented a large group of individuals whose HIV status was disclosed without consent.
When it comes to context, this is often about who the information has been disclosed to and how this may impact the victim. In some typical circumstances, an individual’s address being exposed may not cause significant distress. However, if that address is disclosed to a former partner who no longer knew where the victim lives, and the victim was previously the subject of stalking and harassment, you can see how just an address can cause a significant impact. Another example could be that of an address for someone working in a particularly sensitive career being disclosed, such as an armed police officer or a member of the military.
When we take forward a privacy compensation claim, we will assess the matter in full to determine the best approach to making sure that we can achieve the best award for our clients. We always take into account the context and the individual impact on the victim which is important to be able to make sure that true access to justice can be achieved.
The importance of legal expertise in privacy matters
We are Your Lawyers, and we are leading data breach compensation experts owing to the years of experience we have in this niche and complex area of law. It is important for privacy victims to instruct the right legal help to make sure that they can maximise any compensation settlement awarded, as there are lawyers out there who settle quickly and cheaply.
In a case such as this where we were able to achieve an award in excess of £10,000, we know that there are other solicitors out there who may have settled such a claim for much less. Ultimately, resolving a compensation claim is about achieving some form of justice for what has happened, so it is important to make sure that you are awarded a fair and accurate pay-out.