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Substantial compensation recovered for abuse victim whose former partner breached data protection rules to access private medical records

Having specialised in personal injury claims for many years, it is rare for us to be shocked when clients tell us what they have been through.  However, we were staggered recently when a young woman came to us for help in dealing with the psychological trauma caused by a data breach within the NHS, which occurred when her abusive ex-partner was able to gain access to sensitive information about her and her child which should have been confidential.

The case was handled by our resident data protection expert, Anna Rushton, who explains more:

“When the client came to see us, she was extremely distressed.  Her former partner was an NHS employee who had used his position to gain unauthorised access to her medical records and that of a child they shared together following a brief relationship.  The information contained within those records was private and only intended to be accessed by medical professionals when required for the purpose of making clinical decisions.”

“Her former partner was not a medic and had no need to access patient files as part of his job. It was clear that he had been snooping and that processes implemented by the NHS Trust and Clinical Commissioning Group which employed him (designed to prevent this sort of thing occurring) had failed.”

This would have been bad enough, but the client and her former partner were locked in an acrimonious legal dispute and it was reasonable to assume that his motive in accessing the files was to try to find something to use as ammunition against her and, more worryingly, to find out where she was currently living.  This is something she did not want him to know, given his history of being physically and emotionally abusive towards her.

Also of concern was the fact that this was not a one off incident.  In total, unauthorised access had occurred on more than 200 occasions over an eight month period and only came to light when the Trust and CCG found out what had happened and took disciplinary action.

As Anna goes on to explain:

“Our client was unaware that anything had gone on until she received a tip off from a mutual acquaintance and understandably it left her feeling shocked, distressed, anxious and paranoid – particularly as her former partner had been allowed to keep his job and there was therefore an obvious risk that he might be tempted to try to gain access again.”

How we were able to help

Using data protection laws, which oblige organisations like the NHS to keep personal information secure and to only allow it to be accessed by authorised personnel for authorised purposes, we were able to force the Trust and CCG to:

• review their data protection procedures;
• introduce safeguards to prevent non-authorised access occurring in the future;
• implement closer monitoring of the client’s former partner; and
• pay nearly £7000 in compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.

This was all achieved through correspondence and without the need for the client to issue a formal legal claim or to attend at court.

How the client feels now

Speaking shortly after the matter was resolved, the client told us that she felt a huge sense of relief and also reassurance that the likelihood of unauthorised access being gained again was as low as it could be, given the extra measures the Trust and CCG had agreed to implement.

She also provided the following testimonial about her experience of using our service:

“My primary motive in taking legal action was to try to prevent access to my records and that of my child being unlawfully obtained again.  Thankfully, due to the skilful handling of my case by Anna Rushton, this is something I have been able to achieve and which now makes me feel confident that I can put this awful episode behind me and move on.”

“From the minute I contacted the firm, I was put at ease that my case would be dealt with appropriately and that they would help me to secure the outcome that I wanted.”

“They were friendly and professional, explained everything to me in plain English and ensured that I was kept up to date about what was happening.  They even agreed to take my case on under a no win, no fee agreement so that there were no legal fees to pay upfront, which was hugely helpful.”

“In short, my experience of using Step Legal Solicitors was brilliant and I would have no hesitation in recommending their services to anyone else in need of legal advice, particularly in respect of a data breach claim.”

Do you need our help?

If you have been the victim of a data breach and suffered psychological damage as a result, then it may be possible for you to seek compensation.  Finding out if you can make a claim is simple – just call Anna on 01782 757298 to arrange a free consultation.

There is no obligation to proceed if you do not want to and everything you tell us will remain confidential.  Conversely, if you do decide to go ahead, we will ensure that you are fully supported and that your matter is dealt with sensitively.

Additionally, in most cases we can usually act on the basis of a no win, no fee arrangement, which means that you are free to pursue your claim with no upfront costs and with the comfort of knowing that you will not have to pay our legal fees unless your claim is successful.

For more information, please visit the data breach claims section of our website: https://www.steplegal.co.uk/services/data-breach-claims/