Improper access to medical records and what you can do about it

If you’ve been the victim of improper access to medical records that contain your information, you may be able to make a claim for data breach compensation on a No Win, No Fee basis.

We’ve been helping people claim NHS data breach compensation for this kind of medical records access abuse for a long time now. We’ve also been in contact with victims of the most recent incident of this that involved Greater Manchester patients, and we’ve been taking legal cases forward for those affected.

It’s important to know that NHS staff can be breaking the law when they abuse their access rights, and it’s important for victims to know their rights if this ever happens.

Huge example off improper access to medical records

The big news example of an incident that involves improper access to medical records is the recent one involving Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust.

NHS bosses have had to issue letters to some 2,000 patients due to several staff who have accessed medical records inappropriately over an 18-month period. Some patients have had their records accessed multiple times, and it’s understood that it has been hard to identify exactly which staff have been the guilty ones breaking the rules.

News of the scandal hit the headlines after patients started receiving letters about unauthorised access events. Investigations revealed the events following a complaint that had been made.

Other common scenarios

Some of the other commons scenarios that involve improper access to medical records usually occur when NHS employees snoop on the information for people that they know.

It can be current and former partners, friends, neighbours, family, etc.; there have been a number of incidents over the years that have led to prosecutions from the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office).

The problem has been so bad that the ICO has previously issued general warnings to NHS staff about the fact that they can be breaking the law when they access medical records without reason or authority. Fines, prosecutions and job losses can all arise from these kinds of scenarios.

Claiming compensation for improper access to medical records

You can be eligible to make a claim for data breach compensation that arises from improper access to medical records.

The loss of control over this kind of private and sensitive information can be extremely distressing fore the victims involved. We value data breach case pay-outs based on things like the nature of information exposed, and how it can affect people.

When it comes to medical records, we’re talking about data that’s usually really private and personal.

For help and advice as a victim of this kind of incident, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert team.

Isle Of Wight Council Data Breach Involving Tax Letters

Charing Cross gender clinic data breach advice