Healthcare data violations

A healthcare environment is somewhere that we should expect to feel safe and protected, trusting the doctors and other healthcare professionals who owe us a duty of care. But it is not only our health and well-being that we entrust to healthcare organisations, as they are also responsible for protecting the incredibly sensitive personal and health information that we disclose to them. Unfortunately, healthcare data violations can continue to erode the relationship of trust between patients and healthcare providers.

Whether an employee has viewed medical records without authorisation, or failed cybersecurity has allowed hackers to access private stores of patient data, all medical information breaches can have a profound impact on the affected patients. It is unacceptable that so many of these incidents continue to occur, as the organisations responsible for them may actually be violating the data protection laws they are required to comply with.

If you have been affected by a healthcare data breach, you may be able to recover compensation via a data breach claim. Our expert lawyers can offer free, no-obligation advice on your potential eligibility.

Healthcare data violations – the most serious NHS incidents

Some of the most serious healthcare data violations in recent years have occurred within the NHS. An incident at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Trust previously led to an NHS data breach fine, in which the ICO imposed a financial penalty of £185,000 on the trust. The data breach involved the unintentional online publication of personal data belonging to approximately 6,574 employees of the trust, including extremely sensitive information taken for the purposes of equality and diversity monitoring.

Another incident at a hospital trust in Greater Manchester involved more intentional healthcare data violations by, it is understood, a number of employees. It was revealed that employees had been accessing personal information relating to over 2,000 patients without authority or reason to do so. Given that the employees had no authorisation or need to access the data in question, it seems they were snooping on the information without justification.

Your rights as a data breach victim

Many of us are likely familiar with the principle of doctor-patient confidentiality, and a similar principle applies when it comes to data protection at healthcare organisations. All data controllers are required to comply with the GDPR. If they breach this law, they could be held liable through data breach claims.

As part of a claim, you could be eligible to recover damages for any distress caused by the incident, as well as for any financial losses or expenses incurred. For example, where data has been stolen and misused by fraudsters to extort money from victims, such losses could be claimed back.

Make your healthcare data breach claim

For victims who have been wronged by healthcare data violations, it is important to seek justice for any breach of your rights. We have represented clients for data breach claims since 2014. With our expertise, we can offer you the bespoke representation you deserve.

To receive free, no-obligation advice about your potential compensation claim, contact us today or register your details for a call-back.

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