Data Claims

Data Claims

Both public authorities (such as the Police, Councils and the NHS) and private organisations (such as companies) handle large amounts of your personal data on a daily basis. All data controllers must comply with certain legal duties to protect your information as a data subject; this includes storage and disclosure.

Our specialised team at Duncan Lewis is here to help you fight against the mishandling of your personal data when public authorities and private organisations breach their legal duties. We can provide you with dedicated legal assistance building on our vast experience in bringing high-profile and strategic challenges against unlawful actions by those who have misused your information. For enquiries, please contact by telephone or email.

What is a data breach?

The UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 provide the rules that data controllers must follow when handling your information as a data subject. They can breach these rules by not processing your personal data in a lawful, legitimate, fair, transparent, relevant, consented or accurate way; they can also be in breach by not keeping your information safe, retaining your personal data for longer than is necessary and also not notifying you of their breach in accordance with specific timeframes.

Personal data is any information that allows an individual to be identified. This can be either directly or indirectly through your personal details, contact information, location and your physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity. When your personal data is provided to data controllers, their handling and/or processing can include collecting, recording, organising, storing, altering, using and disclosing your information. Data controllers have strict rules they must follow and if they do not, it will be considered a data breach.

What am I entitled to?

You may be entitled to compensation arising from any committed data breach. Compensation can be awarded for any causative loss (such as psychological and/or financial) and the compensation available to you will vary depending on the personal data in question, the way such information was mishandled and the specific impact the data breach had on you.

You may also be able to seek regulatory assessment and/or challenge to a data controller’s internal procedures when handling any personal information in an attempt to avoid any reoccurrence in the future to your personal data or that of others. Our team have extensive experience in these systematic challenges both in correspondence with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and directly to the data controller themselves.

How can I fund my data breach claim?

To make a claim with data protection specialists Duncan Lewis by your side on a ‘no win no fee’/Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), we require that you receive from a data controller an accepted/admitted personal data breach that you became aware of and/or was committed within the last three years which has caused you a loss (such as psychological or financial harm). A ‘no win no fee’/Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) means that you pay nothing to Duncan Lewis upfront nor if your claim is unsuccessful*. Instead and if your claim is successful, we will recover a contribution towards our legal fees from the data controller responsible for the data breach at a limited amount from your compensation.

If your data breach claim is against the Police, legal aid may also be available*. Although making a data protection complaint and/or obtaining information from a data controller can be done free of charge by yourself, we also offer a private fixed fee for such services should you require*.

*Subject to certain terms and conditions.