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Aetna sued for revealing HIV statuses of 12,000 patients

Health insurer, Aetna Inc, is being sued for a serious oversight that reportedly revealed the HIV status of around 12,000 patients when a letter was sent out to customers with large clear windows that referenced HIV medication.

It’s a monumental blunder that’s similar to the London sexual health clinic, 56 Dean Street breach, where an email was sent to over 700 patients with names and email addresses for recipients visible. We act for a large proportion of the people claiming in that action.

The clear window is of course intended to be clear, so the address is shown for posting, but this doesn’t change the fact that the letter clearly hadn’t been properly planned out given that private medical information was visible too.
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U.S. appeals court split over whether victims can claim for ‘fear of damage’ from data breaches

Although this story is from the U.S., we keep a close eye on American data protection affairs as our laws can be similar, and cases and challenges can reflect on how we may see the law here.

In this big news story from the States, a recent federal appeals court in the U.S. have said that claimants can sue defendants who breach their data protection obligations for ‘fear of damage’, even if no actual damage has occurred. This can make sense, as the damage could be done at any point in the future; but this decision moves away from one Supreme Court case that said claimants needed to prove a risk of “imminent” and “concrete” injury to bring a claim.
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Health insurance company in the U.S. pays out a record $115 million after millions had personal data hacked

The U.S.’s second largest health insurance company, Anthem Inc, has agreed to pay out a record-breaking settlement over a huge data breach from two years ago.

Around 79 million people had their personal information compromised during the hack, and it’s safe to say Anthem are paying for their mistakes given the settlement. Data breach victims include current and former clients, and it’s thought that lawyers will need to sift through a lot of information to pinpoint exactly who was affected, how much data was compromised, and the impact the breach had on them.
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We-Vibe data surveillance breaches the Data Protection Act

We have been approached by a number of concerned individuals in the U.K. following the news that the company behind the “smart sex toy” We-Vibe is settling Group Action claims in the U.S. for collecting user data without proper consent.

We have now taken on a multitude of cases as we investigate the circumstances surrounding the collection of data without the consent of users here in the U.K., which we allege is a breach of the Data Protection Act.

The Canadian manufacturer of We-Vibe, Standard Innovation, was fined CAD $4 million (£2.4 million) after they were found to be collating and using their customers’ data without explicit consent.
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The University of Greenwich Data Breach compensation claims

Six months ago in June of this year, the University of Greenwich found themselves in hot water when a student notified the BBC that a simple google search had revealed private and personal information accidentally uploaded by the University about numerous students.

Hundreds of post-graduate research students at the University were subject to this massive data leak, with a great deal of the information not only sensitive and private in nature, but also financially sensitive, leaving people open to the possibility of fraud.
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Research shows victims hold the organisations primarily responsible for data leaks

Research conducted by ResearchBods found that consumers put the responsibility for data leaks, breaches, and hacks firmly on the shoulders of the organisations.

The study results showed that people blame the organisations far more than the hackers, and in terms of how the law actually works, it’s fair to say that the legal responsibility does weigh heavily on organisation (as Data Controllers) anyway.

The excuse “oh, but we were hacked!” is not one that will save an organisation from criminal or civil prosecution!
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Data breach compensation

You may not know this but you are entitled to claim for data breach compensation if you are the victim of a data breach. You can claim data breach compensation from organisations leaking your information (like a public service or your employer); from organisations sharing your information without consent; or even from hacks, as examples.

In the digital age we live in, where organisations hold an astounding wealth of information about us, we’re all at risk of our right to privacy being breached, and at risk of scams and frauds.

So what can you claim for in terms of data breach compensation, and on what basis do you claim?
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Data Protection Compensation Claims on a No Win, No Fee

Most people are aware of the No Win, No Fee with it being so prominent in areas of the law like personal injury claims.

Some people are not as aware of their rights when it comes to making a data protection compensation claim on a No Win, No Fee basis as well though. The facts are these: there are a lot of similarities and even crossovers in terms of personal injury and data protection law that can allow us to offer No Win, No Fee arrangements in similar ways.

The law can be more complex and does require Data Leak Lawyers like us who know how to help people properly. So let’s talk No Win, No Fee Data Leak Compensation Claims…
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