Special category data compensation claims

Special category data is personal information that is afforded particular protection in accordance with the GDPR because of the nature of what it is.

The law recognises that you have the right to control who knows what about you, and it also recognises that certain information requires particular attention and control. This is the type of information that is often categorised as “special category”, and the need to protect it is vital.

Your Lawyers, as Leading Data Leak Lawyers, represent thousands of people for cases and we may be able to help you now – our team can offer free, no-obligation legal advice here now.

What is special category data?

Special category data is personal information that is afforded greater protection in accordance with the GDPR. The reason it is treated differently is because the nature of it can be particularly personal and sensitive.

As such, when it comes to special category data, the GDPR stipulates separate additional conditions for processing and storing such information. This is to ensure that particular information that requires additional protection is only ever processed in the right way.

Special category information is listed as follows in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as follows:

• personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin;
• personal data revealing political opinions;
• personal data revealing religious or philosophical beliefs;
• personal data revealing trade union membership;
• genetic data;
• biometric data (where used for identification purposes);
• data concerning health;
• data concerning a person’s sex life; and
• data concerning a person’s sexual orientation.

Source: ICO

Claiming compensation for data breaches

Claiming compensation for a breach that involves special category data requires the expertise of a specialist and leading law firm. This is important to point out because some law firms out there have only recently started working in data protection law, and they may not have the expertise and knowledge to be able to help people with such cases. In fact, we know of claims that have not been dealt with properly by other law firms, and you do not want this to happen to you in a case such as this.

You can be entitled to claim data breach compensation if your control over your personal information has been lost. This could arise from the exposure or the misuse of your private information. When we consider whether we can help you with the case, we will often look at the nature of the impact and the details that have been affected as this could stipulate whether we can assist or not. Generally speaking, because special category data is so protected and is so personal and sensitive, it is usually the case that we can pursue a claim for a breach involving such information.

Data protection breach compensation amounts

Data protection breach compensation amounts for legal cases reflect the nature of the information that is affected, how much of it is affected, and the impact on the person. Of course, special category information breaches usually lead to significant distress because this is exactly the type of information that we want to keep personal and protected.

This means that data breach compensation amount and pay-outs could even reach in the tens of thousands of pounds mark in certain cases. Settled claims and case law show that claims for sensitive medical information that has been breached can be valued between £15,000 to £25,000.

You can speak to our team here now for free, no-obligation legal advice about whether we can assist you now with a No Win, No Fee legal case.

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