No Win No Fee Data Breach Compensation Claims

If you’re looking for information on claiming data breach compensation, you’ve found the right page.

Below, we’ll explain more about data breach law, such as defining what a data breach is, what damage you can claim for and how we can help you via our No Win No Fee service.

Remember, we have a team of dedicated data breach advisers standing by to help if you have any questions or would like more information. And if you’d like to make a claim, they can help you too by connecting you with our panel of specialist data breach lawyers.

You can speak to them in any of the following ways:

data breach compensation

What Is The Definition Of A Data Breach?

Data breaches are becoming more and more common, and it’s unsurprising given the number of different organisations we choose to share our data with. From airlines to local government to social media companies like Facebook and LinkedIn, we trust that our data will be kept safe and secure.

But there are myriad threats to the security of our data. Organisations are regularly targeted by hackers who steal private information, hold it for ransom or seek to sell it for profit on the likes of the Dark Web. One recent example which made news headlines was the Marriott International data breach, which saw an estimated 339 million guest records exposed in a 4-year cyberattack.

It isn’t just hackers that organisations need to be mindful of, however. Physical data breaches can happen too, such as the Doorstop Dispensaree data breach which involved a pharmacy failing to secure a storage container filled with confidential patient records.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is responsible for taking enforcement action against violators of data protection legislation, defines a data breach as:

An accidenal or deliberate breach of security that leads to the destruction, alteration, loss, unathorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data.

If you go on to suffer damage to your finances or to your mental health (such as distress, depression or anxiety), you could have grounds to pursue a data breach compensation claim. And this is something that we can help you with.

Examples Of Data Breaches In The UK

We touched upon a couple of significant data breaches in the previous section. Here, we wanted to share with you a few more examples of recent data breaches impacting UK organisations.

  • The University of Greenwich was fined £120,000 for a serious data breach in which 20,000 people’s personal data was exposed following the failure to delete or secure an internal website.
  • British Airways was fined £20m in response to a failure to protect the personal and financial information of around 400,000 customers. There were inadequate security measures in place which was compounded by a cyber-attack in 2018.
  • Ticketmaster UK received a fine of £1.25m for failing to protect customer payment details.
  • The mobile network firm EE Limited was fined £100,00 for sending around 2.5m direct marketing messages to customers without first obtaining their consent.

What Types Of Damage Can You Include In Data Breach Compensation Claims?

As per data protection law, such as the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), those who use and process your personal data have a responsibility to protect it. This includes data controllers and data processors.

Previously, the EU brought in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a directive. However, since the UK left the European union, an updated version of the DPA and the UK GDPR sit alongside each other to monitor how data processors and controllers use your personal data.

The Data Protection Act states that compensation can be sought for ‘damage’, and defines the word as that relating to finances and mental health (such as depression, stress or anxiety).

It is, therefore, possible to claim for either form of damage, meaning you needn’t have suffered financial harm in order to claim for psychological suffering, which was the law up until 2015.

Assessing financial damage can be quite tricky. If money has been taken from your bank accounts, or if credit has been applied for in your name, these things can easily be assessed. But the full impact may not be apparent until months or years down the line. It can, therefore, help to have a data breach solicitor on your side to ensure you cover all bases.

When it comes to determining the value of psychological harm, such as anxiety, stress and even conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it would be necessary to undergo an evaluation with an independent medical expert. This would be arranged as part of your claim, and if you choose to work with us, we will ensure your appointment is as close to your home as possible.

The purpose of this assessment is to determine how much you have suffered so far because of the data breach, the impact it has had on your social life, employment or education, and how long it will take for you to recover, if at all.

If you’d like to discuss potential data breach compensation payouts for your case, we recommend getting in touch with our team of advisers. You may come across some sites offering ‘compensation calculators’, but such tools can produce misleading results, so we recommend you exercise a degree of caution.

It’s far better to chat with trained legal advisers such as our own. We can discuss the ins and outs of your case, assess the strengths and weaknesses, and come up with a more accurate valuation that you can rely on.

Simply call us on the number at the top of this page.

How Long Do I Have To Make A Data Breach Claim?

If you seek compensation for a data breach, you must begin your claim within the limitation periods set out in the Limitation Act 1980. Failing to do so could result in your data breach claim being time-barred, so it’s important that you act sooner rather than later.

Generally, you have up to six years to start your claim. However, if claiming against a public body, you would have one year to begin the claims process.

A data breach lawyer from our panel could help you claim data breach compensation. Just speak to our advisors for a free initial consultation to verify whether you have an eligible claim.

How Much Compensation Can You Get After A GDPR Breach?

You could use a data breach compensation calculator to see what you could receive from a successful claim. These tools can prove useful. However, in some cases they can be inaccurate, which is why we’ve supplied information from the Judicial College Guidelines below.

Lawyers and solicitors often use the guidelines to provide examples of average data breach compensation amounts. However, please bear in mind that the below figures are compensation brackets only relate to successful claims in Wales and England.

These figures have been taken from the latest guidelines, published in 2022. They only relate to potential compensation for non-material damages and can only give you an idea of what you could receive. This is because the complexities of the claims process means that every claim is different.

Injury TypeSeverityCompensation BracketFeatures of Injury
General Psychiatric DamageSevere£54,830 to £115,730Prognosis will be very poor due to being unable to cope with life and because the reaction to treatment has not been successful.
General Psychiatric DamageModerately Severe£19,070 to £54,830Significant problems to relationships with friends and family and their ability to cope with life persist. However, the prognosis will be more optimistic than in more severe cases.
General Psychiatric DamageModerate£5,860 to £19,070Prognosis will be good because there has been a significant improvement due to a positive reaction to treatment.
General Psychiatric DamageLess Severe£1,540 to £5,860The extent to which sleep and daily activities are affected are two aspects that will determine the compensation figure.
PTSDModerately Severe£23,150 to £59,860Better prognosis will be achieved by getting professional help.
PTSDModerate£8,180 to £23,150Any continuing symptoms will not be particularly difficult to deal with as the injured person will have mostly recovered.
PTSDLess Severe£3,950 to £8,180Almost a full recovery has been achieved within a year or two.

To learn more about what you could receive, you could contact us for legal advice that is completely free using the details above. They can discuss data breach compensation amounts in the UK.

How To Start A Claim For A Data Breach

If you choose to work with us here at Data Breach Law, the process of starting a claim couldn’t be easier.

All you have to do is get in touch using any of the following contact methods:

From there we’ll discuss your case with you in detail. Once we know a bit more about it, we can evaluate the prospects of you succeeding if you took your case further. If you did wish to pursue a claim, we can connect you with our panel of specialist data breach solicitors.

From there, you’ll discuss your claim further with your newly appointed solicitor. They’ll explain the process to you and will keep you fully informed throughout. Your lawyer will make all arrangements for you to be medically examined (if necessary in your case), and will obtain all evidence needed to prove the failings of the defendant.

While it’s not necessary to use a lawyer to make a claim, it can certainly help, not to mention save you plenty of headaches and potentially money too.

Learn More About Data Breach Law

Below, we’ve included links to some other resources that you may find useful, as well as some of our own guides if you wanted to learn a bit more about making a data breach claim.

You can check out more of our guides below: