Data breach claims

Any organisation that collects, uses, stores or shares personal data about you has a legal duty to protect that data. The General Data Protection Regulation was brought into effect to ensure that companies and organisations collecting personal data do so in a safe and secure manner. Personal data collection can refer to any information that is collected about you, whether this is physical documents such or information stored online.

Despite being regulated by GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, some organisations may fail to uphold their duty to protect your personal data. In some cases, this data protection failure may be accidental. In other cases, a data protection breach may occur due to malicious action or because a data hack has occured.

If your personal data has been breached you have the right to claim compensation for any financial loss or distress caused by the data breach. At DRM Legal, we are available to support you with your data breach compensation claim and ensure you get the recompense you deserve.

Types of companies collecting personal data

The types of companies that collect, use, store and share personal data about their users include:

• the police
• local authorities including social services
• educational institutions
• private companies such as retailers, restaurants and gyms
• health authorities including the NHS
• the government
• public and private bodies in respect of financial data

Therefore, all of the above organisations are at risk of data breaches occuring if they fail to safely store personal data.

How personal data breaches happen

There are many reasons why a personal data breach may happen. Some of the ways in which a data breach may occur include:

• Unauthorised access by a third party
• Deliberate or accidental action (or omission) by someone holding your data
• Sending your personal data to an unauthorised person
• Computing devices containing your personal data being lost or stolen
• Alteration of your personal data without permission
• Loss of your personal data

Submit a data breach claim

If you have found out that your personal data has been breached by a public or private company, DRM Legal is here to help. Get in touch for advice on how to make a claim or complete our simple claim form here.