This article aims to answer the question, ‘can I claim compensation after an administrator breached my data?’. We will also provide information about what constitutes a personal data breach and tell you about the documents you could gather to support your potential claim. We’ll also discuss how payouts are calculated following a successful personal data breach claim.
An Administrator Breached My Data, Can I Claim Compensation?
Later in the article, we’ll explain how a solicitor could assist with a claim, such as helping you gather evidence. Also, a legal professional may offer to work with you under the terms of a No Win No Fee agreement, which means you may not necessarily have to pay for their services if your claim fails.
Read on for more information. Alternatively, you can contact our team of advisors to learn more about the claims process. They can also assess whether you’re eligible to start a claim and connect you with a solicitor from our panel. To ask your questions during a free consultation:
- Complete our ‘contact us’ form to request a callback
- Phone our team at 0161 696 9685
- Speak to an advisor via the live support chat below
Select A Section
- When Could I Claim If An Administrator Breached My Data?
- What Data Could Be Impacted If An Administrator Breached My Data?
- How Can I Prove An Administrator Breached My Data?
- Examples Of Administrator Data Breach Payouts
- No Win No Fee Data Breach Claims
- Talk To Our Team About Data Breach Claims
When Could I Claim If An Administrator Breached My Data?
In order to begin a personal data breach claim, you must be able to prove the following:
- There was a failure on the part of the data controller or processor to adhere to data protection law.
- Due to their wrongful conduct, your personal data was compromised in a breach.
- As a result of the breach, you experienced financial damage or mental harm.
Two particular laws outline how personal data is processed, called the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). Together, these outline which entities have a responsibility to protect your personal data. These are known as data controllers and data processors. Each has a different role:
- A controller decides how and why to process an individual’s personal data. They can also process the data themselves.
- A processor works on behalf of the controller to process this same data.
If one of these entities does not act in accordance with the relevant data protection laws, then their failings could lead to a personal data breach.
A personal data breach is a security incident that may involve the accidental or unlawful destruction, alteration, loss, unauthorised access to or disclosure of personal data.
Limitation Periods
Typically, you can begin a data breach claim within 6 years. However, please note this is reduced to 1 year if you are claiming against a public body.
To learn more, contact our team of advisors. They discuss the question ‘can I claim if an administrator breached my data?’.
What Data Could Be Impacted If An Administrator Breached My Data?
Personal data is defined as any information that can be used, in isolation or when combined with other data, to identify a living person. This can include the following:
- Name
- Postal address
- Email address
- Phone number
- Credit card and debit card details
Certain data requires more protection because it is considered sensitive. This is known as special category data. It includes information that reveals your:
- Trade union membership
- Racial or ethnic origin
- Genetic data
If any of this data is compromised in a breach, it could impact you in several ways. For example, you could be affected financially if your credit or debit card details were stolen in a cyber security incident as it could lead to money being stolen from your account.
Additionally, you could be affected emotionally, as the breach could cause you to suffer stress, anxiety, depression or distress. Compensation can be awarded to address these effects, provided your claim succeeds.
Speak to our advisors if you have evidence showing a data protection breach has compromised your personal information.
How Can I Prove An Administrator Breached My Data?
After addressing the question, ‘an administrator breached my data, can I claim?’ the next step is to gather evidence to support your potential case. For example, you could gather the following:
- A copy of the communication between you and the data controller/processor. This could include emails or letters you’ve received detailing that your personal data was involved in a data breach.
- Medical records that demonstrate how severely the data breach impacted your mental health and wellbeing.
- Financial records that prove you suffered monetary losses as a result of the data breach.
For more information about the evidence you could gather regarding a data breach, speak to our team of advisors. They may be able to put you in touch with one of the data breach solicitors on our panel, who could help you collect supporting evidence.
Examples Of Administrator Data Breach Payouts
Data breach payouts can include two forms of compensation that reflect different aspects of the harm a personal data breach causes you. Firstly, you could receive compensation that is intended to address the non-material damage you experience. Non-material damage is psychological harm you suffer, such as anxiety due to a data breach.
In order to help them calculate how much compensation could be awarded for this, a solicitor will generally turn to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document contains guideline compensation brackets for different kinds of psychological harm.
We’ve included a table below that contains some of these brackets. However, these are only a guide.
JCG Compensation Brackets
| Type of Harm | JCG Bracket Figures | Severity of Harm | Further Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) General Psychiatric Harm | £54,830 to £115,730 | Severe | Claimant experiences marked problems with respect to personal relationships, life, future vulnerability, and other factors. Very poor overall prognosis. |
| (b) General Psychiatric Harm | £19,070 to £54,830 | Moderately Severe | The person experiences significant problems with respect to the factors mentioned above. Prognosis is more optimistic than the above bracket. |
| (c) General Psychiatric Harm | £5,860 to £19,070 | Moderate | Claimant has experienced problems with the factors mentioned above, but they demonstrate marked improvement by the time of the trial. Prognosis is good. |
| (d) General Psychiatric Harm | £1,540 to £5,860 | Less Severe | This award considers the length of time the injured claimant experiences a disability. |
| (a) Anxiety Disorder | £59,860 to £100,670 | Severe | The claimant cannot function at the level they were at before the trauma occurred. All aspects of their life are badly affected and effects are permanent. |
| (b) Anxiety Disorder | £23,150 to £59,860 | Moderately Severe | Claimant has a better prognosis than above, though they will still experience significant effects for the foreseeable future. |
| (c) Anxiety Disorder | £8,180 to £23,150 | Moderate | Claimant largely recovers. Continuing effects will not be disabling to any gross degree. |
| (d) Anxiety Disorder | £3,950 to £8,180 | Less Severe | A virtually full recovery takes place within 1-2 years. Only minor symptoms present beyond this point. |
Additional Awards In Data Breach Claims
You could also receive compensation to address the material damage you have experienced. These are the monetary losses you’ve experienced due to a personal data breach.
For instance, if a data breach caused by human error reveals your bank details, this could lead to loans being taken out in your name which could have an impact on your credit score.
If you have evidence of these losses, such as bank statements or credit score statements, you could claim back these losses.
For more information on the data breach compensation you could be awarded following a successful claim, get in touch using the details provided above.
No Win No Fee Data Breach Claims
It may be worth seeking help from a data breach solicitor when claiming compensation. Not only can they help you collect evidence to support your claim, but they can also ensure you claim within the correct time limit.
You may be able to work with one of the solicitors from our panel under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement that means you would not necessarily have to pay for your solicitor’s services if your claim fails. Instead, they would take a success fee, but only if the claim succeeds. This success fee is legislatively capped.
You can find out more about these agreements by calling an advisor. They can also assess whether you’re eligible to have a solicitor represent your case on this basis.
Talk To Our Team About Data Breach Claims
Speak to our advisors regarding your potential claim. Our team can answer questions you may have about the claims process and may be able to put you in touch with one of the solicitors on our panel. To learn more today:
- Complete our ‘contact us’ form to request a callback
- Phone our team at 0161 696 9685
- Speak to an advisor via the live support chat below
Learn More About Administrator Data Breaches
More of our guides that may be useful:
- My Medical Information Has Been Shared – Could I Make A Claim?
- Recruitment Agency Data Breach Guide
- Bank Data Breach Compensation Guide
- University Email Data Breach Guide – Find out what you can do when your data has been breached because of a wrongfully sent email or a database break-in.
External resources on this subject:
- Report A Personal Data Breach – Information Commissioner’s Office
- Data Breaches – National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
- Make A Complaint – GOV
We hope this article has answered the question, ‘can I claim compensation if an administrator breached my data?’. If you still require information about the claims process, contact our team today.
Written by MF
Edited by MMI