Deleting information and compensation claims

Organisations deleting information should normally happen in a legal way and in a way that complies with their own policies for this. Where this isn’t the case, what can you do?

You could be entitled to make a claim for compensation, as the impact of this kind of incident can be severe. We may be able to offer to represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis if we believe that there’s a case to answer.

Read on for guidance and information.

Deleting information must be legal and purposeful

Organisations deleting information should only take place when it’s legal and purposeful. Some information and records will be erased as time passes and it’s no longer relevant, and this is fine to do so long as it’s done in accordance with the GDPR. But information should not be deleted prematurely, nor should it be erased in a way that goes against the GDPR.

If data is deleted without good reason and this causes you problems or has an impact on you, you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. The erasure of the data must have had some form of effect on you to be able to bring a case, and some examples can include:

• CCTV footage you needed as evidence being erased – perhaps intentionally by an organisation to escape the blame for another issue;
• Medical information that you need as key evidence in a complaint being deleted or altered. We have represented people for cases where this has happened and, although it’s very rare, it can happen;
• Your employer deleting information that you needed as part of a grievance or complaint;
• A company deleting evidence that would have worked in your favour for a consumer complaint.

In many instances, data will be retained for a set period of time which is in accordance with the policies of the organisation and complies with the GDPR. Once this period has expired, data can be deleted. You can also ask for it to be erased where applicable as well. But, if something is untoward and a policy or the law has been breached, and this affects you, this is where you may have a legal case for compensation. This is where we may be able to represent you for a claim on a No Win, No Fee basis.

Important data like medical information

In many cases, deleting information that’s in breach of the law or a policy or contract can have severe consequences. In some cases, the nature of the information could dictate how severe the impact is for you.

We touched on medical data breaches above, but this really is one of the most important elements to consider. The accuracy of healthcare information can be the difference between life and death. It can be the difference between a victim having the justice that they deserve when something has gone wrong or ending up with no rights at all. As such, this is an important one, and our experience as a firm in representing medical negligence victims means that we’re well placed to assist with a case like this.

If key evidence appears to have been deleted and this was needed by you as part of a medical negligence dispute, we may be able to help you. The case may be both a data breach and a medical negligence incident, which are two areas of law that we specialise in. Our lawyers can help you with both these elements when the act of deleting information has caused you problems.

Free, no-obligation advice

For free and no-obligation advice about your options for justice, you can contact the team today and we will do all we can to try and help you.

All you need to do is complete a claims form on the website and our team can contact you as soon as possible to advise you.

If we can help you, we may be able to represent you or a legal case on a No Win, No Fee basis.