We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
For the victim, stolen medical data can lead to a significant amount of distress, and there can be a huge number of risks if your private and sensitive information has been exposed.
We know that criminals and fraudsters target medical data because it can be valuable to them for a number of reasons. It can be used for ransom and identity theft, or even for criminals to produce forged documents like receipts and prescriptions. The so-called ‘dark web’ is reportedly rife with medical data that’s up for sale.
As a victim, what can you do if your medical data is stolen? Can you be eligible to make a claim for medical data breach compensation?
A senior nurse caught snooping on medical records has reportedly been suspended in yet another case of an NHS employee abusing their rights of information access.
Carol Anne Rodda, in her capacity working for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust data breach, has reportedly been suspended for 12 months for a number of breaches. A number of the medical records data breach compensation claims we take forward involve healthcare employees improperly accessing information, so we know how bad these kinds of incidents can be.
There have been a number of occasions where the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been forced to take action against staff for snooping. The ICO has also had to issue warnings because of so many instances of it happening.
If your private and sensitive medical records have been exposed, our lawyers can help you get the justice you deserve – and we can help you on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Medical records data breach compensation claims are one of the most common types of cases we take forward. Healthcare data breaches cases are high in terms of volumes, and the impact can be enormous. When it comes to the loss of control of personal information, medical data is usually the most serious.
Over the years we’ve been fighting for justice for data breach victims, thousands of people have come to us for help. Many of the individual cases we take forward are medical data claims, and some of the most severe group / multi-party actions we run stem from infamous healthcare sector incidents.
We can help you.
NHS data compensation claims could be set to keep rising as news of substandard systems hit the media headlines this month.
We can tell you from experience that a large proportion of the people we help for individual and group action / multi-party cases are for NHS data breach compensation claims. Worryingly, recent investigation results led to MPs reportedly branding some NHS systems as ‘unfit for purpose’, with other systems branded as ‘hopeless’, which doesn’t fill patients with confidence at all.
Part of the problem is understood to be the variety of systems used, and the age of some of the IT the NHS are relying upon.
Confidential document disposal is a matter that all organisations – both public and private – must take seriously to avoid a data breach incident. But we know things don’t always get done properly as they ought to, and that’s where we come in.
Important data protection laws – including GDPR that came into force this time last year – encompass the handling, and therefore destruction, of data. Confidential documents must not be binned with other general waste because it may lead to a significant data breach. Confidential waste should always be disposed of in a way that ensures information will not be leaked.
If you’re the victim of a data breach that’s caused by a confidential document disposal failure, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
If you need legal advice about healthcare cybersecurity breaches, and you want to know more about claiming data breach compensation, we can help you.
We can offer No Win, No Fee arrangements for healthcare data breach compensation claims. With the healthcare sector often leading the way in terms of the volumes of breaches, we already represent a large number of victims claiming for incidents in this sector.
And research indicates that it’s getting worse and is possibly set to get even worse in the future as well. For the victims, it’s important to know your rights.
There are huge risks when it comes to Healthcare staff data breach incidents. A large volume of the data breach cases we take forward involve the healthcare sector.
That’s why we’re not surprised that a recent study suggested that more than half of data breach incidents in the healthcare industry are reportedly caused by staff themselves. Whether it’s a direct human error that has led to a breach, or staff abusing their powers, it’s the employees themselves that remain such a huge risk for organisations.
Even hacks and cyber attacks can be linked back to staff as well. An easy example is staff falling victim to phishing scams and their user credentials being compromised and then abused by criminals.
A horrendous Bracknell Forest Council data breach incident has been reported in the media this month, and the circumstances are strikingly familiar.
Unfortunately, the incident doesn’t come as a surprise to us. Over the years we’ve been fighting for the rights of data breach victims, thousands of people have come to us for help. A huge volume of the cases we represent people for are for council data breach compensation claims. They really do happen a lot, and with the wealth of personal and sensitive data that councils hold, the impact on the victims can be serious.
In this case, it’s another incident where information – private and sensitive data – has somehow been sent to the wrong person.
There has been a Heart of England NHS data breach incident, and it’s yet another case of an NHS employee snooping on the personal data of people they know.
We’ve spoken out about the issue of NHS employees abusing their rights to access medical data a lot recently. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – the UK’s data watchdog – has prosecuted a number of offenders for such actions. They’ve also had to send out warnings to staff about their responsibilities and the punishments they can face when it comes to this kind of behaviour.
A large volume of the cases we represent people for are NHS data breach compensation claims, so hearing of these kinds of incidents isn’t surprising.
An issue that has led to a number of NHS fax data breach incidents has been reported, after mix-ups with a similar fax number has led to information going astray.
NHS data breach compensation cases are some of the more common types of claims our expert team help people with. A lot of the data breaches are caused by such simple errors that can be easily avoided. Despite this, they happen way too frequently.
The news of the fax mix ups is another example of this and comes to light after the accidental recipients of the data contacted NHS England about the incidents.
The NHS fax data breach issue reportedly stems from GP surgeries and pharmacies accidentally sending data to the wrong number. The number they have been sending information to in some cases belongs to a hotel group who has then been receiving the faxes incorrectly.
Some of the data that has been sent to the wrong fax number includes medication requests, certificates and dispensing vouchers.
It’s understood that the fax number for the hotel group is similar to the ones used to send information within the healthcare system. The hotel group has notified the Corporate Information Governance Team for NHS England.
As a result of these NHS fax data breach issues, NHS England has reportedly reminded GP surgeries and pharmacies about the importance of checking numbers. As some have recently called for a move away from faxes and pagers within the NHS, it’s claimed that this fax system is apparently the only way of sending this data within the healthcare system.
It sounds like something needs to change.
Any medical data breach can cause a huge amount of distress to the victims. When we see these simple errors over incredibly personal and sensitive data, it’s clear to us that more needs to be done.
As a firm of lawyers who specialise in data leak cases, we know how bad a breach can be for the victim. It’s important for these simple and avoidable data breaches are stamped out.
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