What to do if your medical records are exposed

If your medical records are exposed, you could be entitled to make a claim for data breach compensation with us on a No Win, No Fee basis.

We represent a lot of people for cases of this nature, and the impact on the victim is usually severe. Data breach compensation amounts are designed to reflect the severity of the distress caused by the loss of control of personal information. When the data misused or exposed is particularly sensitive and confidential, like medical data, the distress can be worse. As such, pay-outs can be significant.

Victims should never suffer in silence. If you have been the victim of a medical records data breach, you could be entitled to compensation, and we can help.

Compensation if your medical records are exposed

You can be entitled to make a claim for data breach compensation if your medical records are exposed.

You can claim for any distress caused, and for any financial losses that could be associated with the incident as well. For example, medical data could be enough for criminals to commit ID fraud and theft, so we can include direct losses from money stolen as part of a claim.

There are so many ways that medical records could end up exposed or misused. It could be that:

• Medical records data is sent to the wrong person;
• Medical information is accessible to people it shouldn’t be, or where those with access have abused their rights of access;
• Medical records have been left abandoned somewhere by accident.

When it comes to cyberattacks, they can arise from scenarios that include:

• A known security vulnerability that hasn’t been patched;
• Poor access credentials, like simple passwords that can be easily guessed or hacked using malicious software;
• A bug in one part of the system that can allow hackers to access other areas. An example could be a URL bug where changing the URL in one way could allow someone to bypass security and directly access information.

There can also be the distress from hackers threatening to release medical information unless they’re paid a ransom.

Increasing risks

It’s likely that the risks of this kind of breach are increasing as the world continues to become more and more digitalised.

There’s also the issue of increased outsourcing, which can also mean more weak links in the chain that could be exposed by hackers. Nowadays, when medical records are exposed, a claim could be against the NHS or a private third-party company instead.

With so much information being stored in the cloud and being transferred between organisations, there are more doorways for hackers to exploit. One single security flaw could lead to the medical data for millions of people being exposed, so the risks are very real, and they’re substantial as well. NHS data breach compensation claims remain one of the most common types that we take forward, and as digitalisation of information continues to grow, we may see more and more claims.

Free, no-obligation advice

Medical data claims are sensitive matters. We’ve been representing people for them for over five years, and we pioneered an important group action for one of the most infamous medical data cases in history; the 56 Dean Street Clinic leak.

As such, our experience speaks for itself. As a leading firm of data breach compensation specialists, we can offer our advice to you on a free and no-obligation basis. If we can take a claim forward if your medical records are exposed, we may also be able to offer you No Win, No Fee representation.

For advice, please don’t hesitate to speak to our team.

When mail is sent to the wrong person

Never underestimate the impact of data breaches