This guide explains how you can seek criminal record data breach compensation for a personal or criminal offence data breach incident. We discuss how the two main data protection laws, the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) secure your right to data privacy.
Additionally, we provide examples of how data protection laws could be breached and affect criminal offence data. Criminal records will contain criminal offence data. The UK GDPR gives extra protection to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures. You can also learn the types of damage that data breach compensation can address when there is a failure to secure personal data and what evidence you can gather to support a claim.
If you have a valid data breach claim, an advisor could connect you to one of the specialist data breach solicitors from our expert panel. This guide discusses the No Win No Fee terms they could offer when providing representation to help you get the maximum data breach compensation for your claim.
A free, no-obligation conversation with one of our advisors can answer any questions about data breach claims you have and potentially help you get your claim started. To reach us any time, you can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825.
- Contact us and make a query online about how to claim compensation.
- Use the instant live chat feature at the bottom of this page.
Choose A Section
- Criminal Record Data Breach Compensation Claims
- How Could A Criminal Offence Data Breach Happen?
- How Much Criminal Data Breach Compensation Can I Claim?
- What Evidence Could Help Me Claim For Criminal Record Data Breach Compensation?
- Why Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Data Protection Breach Solicitors To Claim Compensation?
- Learn More About Personal Data Breach Compensation
Criminal Record Data Breach Compensation Claims
You could claim criminal record data breach compensation for harm caused by criminal offence data being compromised. Firstly, there are some useful terms to be aware of:
- Data subject – the person that data pertains to. In this context, that’s you.
- Data controller. This refers to the party that decides how and why your criminal records data is processed.
- Data processor. If data controllers do not process data themselves, they may ask third parties, known as data processors, to do it for them.
- Personal data – Article 4 of UK GDPR defines personal data as any information relating to an identifiable natural person, which is another way of saying the data subject.
- Criminal offence data – Personal data of offenders or suspected offenders relating to criminal activity, allegations, investigations and proceedings.
Under Section 170 of the DPA, it is a criminal offence if personal data is knowingly or wilfully disclosed or obtained without the data controller’s consent.
If your personal information or criminal offence data was not protected correctly by a data controller or data processor and meant you suffered financial loss or psychological harm, you could have a valid data breach claim. Give our advisors a call to get a free consultation and learn if you could seek compensation.
How Could A Criminal Offence Data Breach Happen?
Personal data can consist of your name, address and telephone number; there is also a type of personal data relating to sensitive information such as your religion, ethnic origin, political beliefs, sexual orientation and health that require extra protection just as criminal offence data does.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent watchdog responsible for protecting UK citizens’ data freedoms. The ICO defines personal data breaches as security incidents that can result in personal data being unlawfully or accidentally altered, destroyed, lost, accessed or disclosed in an unauthorised manner.
With this in mind, you may be eligible to claim data breach compensation if, for example:
- A probation officer emailed documents to the wrong person or sent them to the wrong postal address with your personal data among them.
- A prison staff member was responsible for a device that was stolen, It contained digital files belonging to prisoners.
- Insufficient cyber security allowed hackers to access the court service database and expose your file that contained details of your criminal offences.
- Due to a lack of data breach prevention training, human error occurred and a police officer discussed your convictions with unauthorised parties.
bb The ICO reprimanded the Ministry of Justice for a data security incident. 14 bags of confidential documentation containing medical and security vetting details were not locked away and instead were left unattended as a contracted shredder company had not collected as usual. They remained in an unsecured holding area of a prison for 18 days.
At least 44 people had access to these documents during this time. Staff noticed that prisoners were reading the documents but “did nothing proactive” to secure them.
Speak to our team to learn how a data breach solicitor from our panel could help with claiming compensation for financial damage or emotional pain caused by wrongful conduct involving your data.
How Much Criminal Data Breach Compensation Can I Claim?
Criminal record data breach compensation could be split into two ‘heads’ in a successful claim payout.
Compensation could be awarded for non-material damage, which aims to address psychological damage caused by personal data breaches. For example, the breach’s impact might have led to depression, anxiety or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)
Those calculating how much compensation you get for psychological injuries could refer to medical records, as well as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG.) This document lists guideline award brackets for injuries based on type and severity. The table below shows some excerpts from the JCG.
Award Bracket Guideline Examples
These are only guideline figures you could use as an alternative to a data breach compensation calculator, and the first line does not come from the JCG. Please call today if you would like us to check your grounds to make a data breach compensation claim. We can also explain what forms of compensation you could receive if your claim is successful.
| Psychological Injury | Severity | Award Bracket Guidelines | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severe Cases of Non-Material Damage Plus Significant Financial Loss | Severe | Up to £250,000 plus | The claimant suffers very severe issues and associated financial losses through inability to work. |
| General Psychological Harm | (a) Severe | £54,830 to £115,730 | Pronounced issues across all areas of the person’s day to day life. They are given a very poor prognosis. |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £19,070 to £54,830 | A better prognosis indicated than in severe cases. However, there are still long-standing issues. | |
| (c) Moderate | £5,860 to £19,070 | Cases where an improvement will have been indicated by any time that the case needs to be heard at trial. | |
| (d) Less Severe | £1,540 to £5,860 | This award bracket reflects the length of the illness and whether it caused specific issues. | |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (a) Severe | £59,860 to £100,670 | The PTSD indicated in this bracket is severe and permanent, badly affecting all areas of the person’s life. |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £23,150 to £59,860 | Similar in severity to cases of severe PTSD, but with a better prognosis because of professional help. | |
| (c) Moderate | £8,180 to £23,150 | The person will largely recover, save a few persisting symptoms that are not grossly disabling. | |
| (d) Less Severe | £3,950 to £8,180 | Cases that see a virtually complete recovery with only minimal issues persisting beyond a two-year period. |
Claiming Material Loss After A Breach Of Criminal Record Data
Your case could involve claiming compensation for financial losses as well as psychological injuries caused by the data protection breach. Known as material damage, this second head of a claim can include seeking data breach compensation for:
- Lost earnings
- The cost of relocating
- Counselling costs.
Be sure to collect receipts, bank statements and payslips to prove the extent of your financial damage. Our team can offer structured guidance on including material loss in your criminal record data breach claim, so please do not hesitate to reach out.
What Evidence Could Help Me Claim For Criminal Record Data Breach Compensation?
In addition to documents proving material loss, other forms of evidence that prove a data breach occurred and affected you may support your claim. For example:
- An organisation must inform data subjects about breaches that could impact their rights and freedoms as quickly as possible. As such, you may have received a data breach notice letter or email.
- If you think an organisation has broken data protection law, you can contact them directly. Keep a record of any conversation you have with them.
- Medical evidence, such as a psychiatrist’s report, can show the extent of any psychological harm.
- If you report a breach to the ICO and they investigate, you could present the findings as evidence.
If you instruct one of the specialist data breach solicitors on our panel, they will help you gather and present proof. Call our team for further guidance on evidence collection and to see if you have a valid criminal record data breach compensation claim.
Why Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Data Protection Breach Solicitors To Claim Compensation?
An expert data breach solicitor can help you navigate the data breach compensation claims process. Their expertise can cut through the legal jargon and provide the support that gives you the best possible chance of success.
Our panel’s solicitors offer their services through a type of No Win No Fee arrangement called a Conditional Fee Agreement. Signing up for this contract would mean:
- No upfront hiring fee.
- No payment for the solicitor’s work throughout the claims process.
- No charge at all for their services if the claim fails.
- Just a minor deduction from a winning settlement, known as the solicitor’s success fee.
The legal cap set by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 means your solicitor may only capture a small percentage of the compensation.
Give us a call if you have any questions about No Win No Fee Agreements or a personal data breach. Also, if you would like to learn more about the advantages of working with a member of our panel on your criminal record data breach claim, you can:
- Call 0800 408 7825.
- Contact us through our online form.
- Try the live chat option on this page.
Learn More About Personal Data Breach Compensation
Thank you for reading this guide. The following resources may also help:
- Read about wrong email address claims and how to make one.
- In addition, more on how to report a data breach with a view to making a claim.
- Furthermore, we explain how long you have to report a data breach.
Some external resources:
- Read about the action the ICO has taken to defend the public’s data rights.
- Also, some information about anxiety disorders from the NHS.
- Lastly, details on a Subject Access Request to access the data held about you.
Please call if you want to learn more about claiming criminal record data breach compensation.