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If a personal data breach has made your mental health problems worse, you might wonder if you could be eligible to make a claim for compensation. In this guide, we’ll discuss the impacts data breaches could have on your psychological well being, as well as the circumstances under which you could claim.
A guide on claiming if a data breach made your mental health problems worse
When your personal data is compromised, the incident could significantly impact your relationships and your ability to work. Aside from data breach distress, you may also be eligible to claim for the financial impacts of the breach.
The UK General Data Protection Regulation works alongside the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). In the UK, these are the two main pieces of data protection legislation that are used to protect your personal data. According to this legislation, if you have suffered harm because of a personal data breach brought on by an organisation’s failings, you may be eligible to claim compensation.
Our personal data breach solicitors could help you through the claims process.
4.8According to the UK GDPR, if the availability, security, or confidentiality of your personal data is affected in a security incident, this is a personal data breach. Personal data means any information that could be used to identify you, either alone or in conjunction with other information.
However, not all breaches of data protection law will result in a valid claim. To make a valid claim for a personal data breach, you must be able to answer yes to the following:
To learn more about who can claim if a data breach has made your mental health problems worse, contact our team today.
The impact of data breaches could be severe, particularly if you already suffer with existing mental health conditions. The level of disturbance and disruption a personal data breach may cause could exacerbate existing problems relating to stress, depression, and anxiety disorders.
A data breach may cause you significant stress. According to the NHS, symptoms include:
An anxiety disorder puts sufferers at unease and may result in constant worrying or being fearful. You may feel more anxious than usual if a personal data breach occurs, which could result in you developing conditions such as:
If a personal data breach has caused your mental health problems to get worse, get in touch. Our advisors offer free friendly advice and could tell you if you are eligible to receive data breach compensation for mental health injuries.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is an independent public body that upholds data protection law in the UK. Whilst the ICO cannot offer compensation for data breaches, they may investigate complaints and issue monetary fines.
The UK GDPR defines personal data as any information that identifies or can be linked to an identifiable person. This can include:
Other sensitive information such as passwords and bank account details could potentially be exposed, lost or shared due to a data breach.
Special category data needs extra protection as it is considered to be of a sensitive nature:
When a data breach makes your mental health problems worse, you may consider seeking legal advice. Our advisors can offer free guidance and may be able to put you in touch with one of our expert solicitors.
As we explained earlier, there are certain criteria you must meet in order to make a valid claim. For example, the breach must have been the fault of the organisation, and you must have suffered mental or financial harm.
Generally, there is a six year time limit for starting a data breach claim. However, this time limit is reduced to one year for claims against a public body. Furthermore, if the breach threatens your rights or freedoms, the organisation must report it to the ICO within 72 hours.
If your personal data breach claim is successful you could be awarded two types of damages:
Following the Court of Appeal case, Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc [2015], it was ruled that you may seek non-material damage no matter what financial impact was caused by the data breach.
Using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a legal publication used by solicitors to value injuries caused by an accident at work, medical negligence, and data breaches, we have created a psychological injury compensation table. This can give you a broad idea of what you could receive should your claim succeed.
| Injury | Compensation Range | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Stress Disorder | £59,860 – £100,670 | You are unable to function the same way you did before experiencing trauma. |
| Moderately Severe Stress Disorder | £23,150 – £59,860 | You may have made some degree of recovery. |
| Moderate Stress Disorder | £8,180 – £23,150 | Residual effects of PTSD may still be prominent. |
| Less Severe Stress Disorder | £3,950 – £8,180 | Minor symptoms may persist but a full recovery is expected by two years. |
| Severe Psychiatric Damage | £54,830 – £115,730 | Symptoms impact your relationships, work or education whilst the prognosis is very poor. |
| Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage | £19,070 – £54,830 | Significant disability is anticipated although the prognosis is slightly more optimistic than the bracket above. |
| Moderate Psychiatric Damage | £5,860 – £19,070 | Aspects in your life are affected, including in work and education. |
| Less Severe Psychiatric Damage | £1,540 – £5,860 | You may struggle to sleep whilst some daily activities may be affected. |
Please note that these figures are guidelines only.
4.8If a personal data breach has made your mental health problems worse, why not find out if you can make a compensation claim. Our experienced solicitors, can offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). With benefits such as:
To discuss your case with one of our expert personal data breach solicitors, contact our advisors today by:
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If a personal data breach has made your mental health problems worse, get in touch today.
