A foster care data breach can mean that the often sensitive personal data of already vulnerable children is put at risk. This type of breach could also affect foster parents.
In this guide, we look at the compensation that could be awarded in a successful data breach claim to address the different impacts that a breach of personal data could have. Additionally, we explore the eligibility criteria for data breach claims to help you understand when you could seek compensation.
There are data protection laws in place to protect a data subject’s personal information. A data subject is the party to whom the personal data relates. We will explore these laws in further detail as well as the parties who have responsibilities with regard to the storing, handling, and processing of your personal data.
Moreover, we list what evidence is essential in supporting a claim and how a No Win No Fee solicitor could assist you in building your case.
Please speak with our team for further guidance on whether a claim could be made following foster care data breaches. They are available 24/7 and can assess your case for free. To get in touch, you can:
- Call 0800 073 8801.
- Contact Us using our online form.
- Send a message to our live support chat on the screen.
Browse Our Guide:
- What Could You Claim For A Foster Care Data Breach?
- Are You Eligible To Claim For A Breach Of Foster Care Data?
- How Could A Foster Care Data Breach Happen?
- How Do I Prove My Personal Data Breach Claim?
- No Win No Fee Data Breach Claims
- Learn More About Claims For Data Breaches
What Could You Claim For A Foster Care Data Breach?
If your foster care data breach claim is successful, compensation for any material and non-material damage the breach of personal data has caused could be awarded. You can claim for both types of damage either on their own or together. You do not need to have suffered both types of damage.
Firstly, non-material damage is the psychological and psychiatric harm that has been suffered due to the data breach. This includes distress, depression, anxiety, and any other mental health conditions.
Within the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) there are different psychological injuries at different severities and guideline compensation brackets for each of these. Your medical reports are reviewed alongside the JCG to help calculate compensation for a data breach.
Guideline Compensation Table
Here in this table are comments and guideline compensation figures taken from the JCG for different types of psychological harm. The top entry, however, has not been taken from the JCG.
| Type of Harm | Severity | Guideline Compensation Brackets | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious psychological injuries plus substantial financial losses | Serious | Up to £150,000+ | There is a serious affect to the person’s mental health and they have a negative prognosis. This has also caused financial losses, such as missed wages. |
| Psychiatric damage | Severe (a) | £54,830 to £115,730 | A very poor prognosis with marked problems that affect different aspects of the injured person’s life. Such aspects include coping with education/work. |
| Moderately severe (b) | £19,070 to £54,830 | A more optimistic prognosis but different aspects of the injured person’s life will still have significant problems. | |
| Moderate (c) | £5,860 to £19,070 | The prognosis will be good since a marked improvement will have been made. | |
| Less severe (d) | £1,540 to £5,860 | The affect on sleep and daily activities are considered. | |
| Anxiety disorder | Severe (a) | £59,860 to £100,670 | All aspects of the injured person’s life will be permanently and badly affected, such as not being able to work or function at a pre-trauma level. |
| Moderately severe (b) | £23,150 to £59,860 | Some professional help will mean some recovery and a better prognosis. However, for the foreseeable, the effects will likely still cause significant disability. | |
| Moderate (c) | £8,180 to £23,150 | The person will largely recover and any lasting effects won’t be grossly disabling. | |
| Less severe (d) | £3,950 to £8,180 | Minor symptoms will last longer than 1-2 years, otherwise a full recovery will be made within this time. |
Material Damage
Secondly, material damage is the financial losses that have been suffered due to the breach of personal data. This could include lost earnings if time off work has been needed.
There always needs to be proof of whatever finances have been lost, such as payslips.
Our team can provide more information about foster care data breach compensation and what impacts you could be compensated for. Don’t hesitate to contact an advisor today, and feel free to ask us any questions.
Are You Eligible To Claim For A Breach Of Foster Care Data?
The two laws that outline the rules and regulations of data protection in the UK are the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). They are in place to protect personal data and set out obligations for data controllers and data processors.
The data controller is the party that decides why and how your personal data will be processed. Controller’s can also process the data themselves if they do not wish to outsource this task. If they don’t process the data themselves, a data processor will do so for them. These two parties need to abide by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), an independent body that upholds information rights in the UK, defines a personal data breach as a security incident which affects the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of personal data. Personal data is information that can be used to identify you, such as your name and postal address.
To have a valid personal data breach claim, you must meet the criteria set out in Article 82 of the UK GDPR:
- The controller or processor failed to follow the data protection legislation.
- A breach occurred that compromised your personal data due to their failings.
- As a result of the breach, you suffered psychological and/or financial damage.
What Time Limits Could Apply To Your Claim?
Those with valid grounds to make a claim for a breach of personal data typically have 6 years to do so. However, this time limit changes to just 1 year if the claim is against a public body.
Call our team to find out whether you could claim compensation following a foster care data breach.
How Could A Foster Care Data Breach Happen?
Personal data is information that can be used to identify who you are, such as your full name, date of birth and home address, whether that data is used on its own or with other data. There are also types of personal data which need more protection due to the information being more sensitive. This is called special category data, such as data revealing racial or ethnic origin and data concerning health, such as medical information from your medical records.
Foster care data breaches could happen due to either a human error or cyber security incident:
- Social services accidentally sending an email containing sensitive data regarding a child in foster care to the wrong email address through human error.
- A social worker losing their work laptop, which contains various types of sensitive data about children in care, by leaving it on a train. An unauthorised party could access all of the personal data on the laptop if the device isn’t password protected.
- Poor cyber security could leave computer systems more susceptible to a cyber attack, such as ransomware or malware. This could lead to personal data being stolen.
A breach of personal data about a foster child and/or foster families can result in psychological harm, such as anxiety, emotional distress, and depression. It could also exacerbate a pre-existing mental health condition. Additionally, it could result in financial loss, such as lost earnings and the cost of having to relocate.
To discuss your specific case for free advice on whether you could be eligible to claim compensation for the impact of a data breach, call our team on the number above.
How Do I Prove My Personal Data Breach Claim?
In order to prove your foster care data breach claim is valid, you can provide evidence. For example:
- Keep the notification letter sent from the data controller that confirms when your personal data was breached and exactly which personal information was breached. Data controllers have a responsibility to notify you without undue delay if a personal data breach has compromised your freedoms and rights.
- Other correspondence, such as emails, between you and the data controller.
- Proof of any emotional impacts of the breach, such as medical reports from your GP that show a diagnosis.
- Proof of any financial impacts of the breach, such as payslips that show lost wages from taking time off work due to stress.
- Any helpful findings from an ICO investigation of the case. Once you have contacted the data controller, if they have not responded adequately or at all, then it is recommended to report your personal data breach to the ICO. If they choose to investigate, their findings can support your claim.
Our panel of expert solicitors with experience handling claims of this nature could assist you with gathering evidence to support your case. If you contact our team today, and they determine that your foster care data breach claim is valid, one of our solicitors can offer their services to you. Call the number at the top of the screen to find out more.
No Win No Fee Data Breach Claims
If it’s found that your foster care data breach claim is valid, one of our solicitors can represent your case. All of our solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, specifically through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under the terms of a CFA, the following typically applies:
- There is no upfront payment to pay for your solicitor’s services.
- There are no ongoing charges to pay for your solicitor’s services.
- If your claim is unsuccessful, there are still no charges to pay for your solicitor’s services.
Instead, if your claim is successful, solicitors will take a success fee from your compensation. This success fee is taken before the compensation is awarded to you. However, they are deducted as a legally capped percentage to ensure you keep the majority of your settlement.
Contact Us
Making your data breach claim under a CFA with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors poses a greater advantage to you than claiming in any other way as they have lots of experience helping claimants seek compensation.
To find out more, please get in touch with our helpful team. They can provide free advice 24/7. You can reach out via the contact details below:
- Call 0800 073 8801.
- Contact us using our online form.
- Send a message to our live support chat on the screen.
Learn More About Claims For Data Breaches
For more of our guides:
- Learn about your rights after a child protection agency data breach if the agency has failed to protect a child’s personal data.
- Find out about text message data breaches and what to do if you have been affected.
- Learn what to do if data was sent to the wrong postal address and how much compensation you could be awarded if you make a successful claim.
External resources:
- National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – Guidance for families about data breaches.
- ICO – How to minimise the chance of a personal data breach from occurring.
- NHS – Support and information on mental health.
Thank you for reading our guide on what compensation could be awarded in a successful foster care data breach claim. If you have any other questions about claiming compensation for the effects of this type of breach, call our team on the number above.