Unlawfully accessing medical records: what can you do?

If you’ve been the victim of someone unlawfully accessing medical records, you could be entitled to make a medical data breach compensation claim.

With the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) NHS Foundation Trust medical records access scandal fresh in our minds, we want to make sure that victims know that they have a voice. We’ve taken forward a number of cases for victims of the WWL incident so far, but anyone who has suffered this kind of breach can be entitled to claim.

Whether you’re one of the 2,172 Greater Manchester patients affected by the above scandal, or someone who has discovered unlawful access to your information, we may be able to help you.

Unlawfully accessing medical records is a serious matter

There’s no debate about it. The act of someone unlawfully accessing medical records is an incredibly serious matter, and that’s why the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) prosecute offenders for this kind of breach.

The ICO has had to deal with a number of incidents of this nature, and they’re looking into the WWL one as well.

Offenders could lose their jobs, face fines and be ordered to pay surcharges. The damaging and lasting affect this can have on a person’s career is substantial, and so it should be. This kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable, and the punishments must always reflect this.

What about the victims?

It’s important to know that the victims of people unlawfully accessing medical records can be entitled to justice as well.

If it’s a case involving a hospital or a GP, the victim can be entitled to make a claim for NHS data breach compensation.

Whether it’s a case of one person and a single access event, or multiple people and / or your records being accessed more than once, you may have a valid legal case. Our medical records typically contain some of the most personal and sensitive data about us. In some cases, those with particular medical histories can suffer considerable distress when their information is illegally accessed.

The loss of control of this kind of data is hard to undo.

Valuing a claim for unlawfully accessing medical records

A case involving unlawfully accessing medical records is generally seen as one of the more serious types of breaches that we deal with.

There’s no excuse when it comes to accessing information without authority or reason. Those in charge at NHS organisations must ensure that staff have the training and knowledge to know when they can and can’t access information. There should also be appropriate technical measures in place to prevent such incidents as well.

Data breach compensation amounts for this kind of case can be substantial, and you can have a look at our specialist advice page here for more information about how we approach this kind of case.

For free, no-obligation advice about whether we could represent you for an unlawful medical records access case on a No Win, No Fee basis, please don’t hesitate to speak to our team today.

Compensation for a financial information data breach

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