Details of accident victims: breaches and leaks

Unfortunately, there have been many incidents where the details of accident victims have been passed on to people or companies when they should not have been.

The misuse of any private information that a person has access to can constitute a breach of the GDPR. Any breach of the GDPR can allow any victim whose information has been misused or exposed to claim compensation, and you can speak to our team for free, no-obligation legal advice here now.

The market for details of accident victims

Unfortunately, the market for details of accident victims has always been something that can cause distress to people. Previously, it was legal for companies to pass details on to different companies if it was done in the correct way, although we have always been against this practice. We know that people can end up being harassed and hounded by claims companies trying to push them into pursuing legal cases, which is not something that we believe in at all.

Aside from this, there is also an underground market for the details of accident victims in which employees have broken data protection legislation to misuse information they have access to. They know that they can make money from selling people’s details on, which can result in some people breaking the law and abusing their right of access to pass details to companies when they have no right to do so.

This can cause a lot of distress to people which we will go into more detail below.

A recent ICO prosecution: former RAC employee

The UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has had to issue prosecutions against people who have misused personal information they have access to. This includes cases where employees have misused their right of access to details of accident victims. What will normally follow is that the data will be sold to claims companies to try to convince people to pursue cases.

This kind of behaviour is completely wrong. Not only does it breach important data protection laws, but even the selling and passing on of such information is not something we agree with.

In a recent case, the ICO confirmed that a former employee of the RAC was prosecuted after he reportedly obtained the details of 21 road accident victims who were subsequently harassed by claims companies. The ICO issued a fine of £5,000 and ordered him to pay court costs of almost £1,000, as well as a victim surcharge of £170. The former employee pleaded guilty to breaches of data protection law, and the RAC looked into matters following an investigation.

Claiming data breach distress compensation

When it comes to claiming data breach distress compensation, we will often take into account a number of factors, which can include the level of distress that you have suffered. If your personal information has been misused or exposed, and this resulted in harassment, this can increase the distress that you suffer from, which is something that we can take into account. This kind of factor can be something that is common in a case of this nature involving the details of accident victims.

If you have been affected by any misuse or exposure of private information, you could be entitled to claim GDPR compensation. We may be able to represent you for a legal case on a No Win, No Fee basis, and the best thing to do is contact our team for free, no-obligation legal advice here now.

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