Accessing medical records without any sound reason to do so, and/or without authority to do so, can constitute a breach of vital data protection laws. Where this happens on a large scale, many people may be eligible to join their claims to form a group or multi-party action.
Data breach group actions is a particular area of law that we have a great deal of experience in, and we represent thousands of clients who are currently engaged in dozens of them with us. For eligible clients, we work on a No Win, No Fee basis, and we are pursuing actions right now where the breach stemmed from medical records being inappropriately accessed.
Our medical records contain some of the most personal and sensitive information about us that there can be. It is so important that they are protected from misuse and exposure, and when this happens we know that victims can suffer from considerable distress. The law can allow victims to claim data breach compensation for such distress, and we can represent victims for legal cases.
Staff accessing medical records in the Greater Manchester scandal
In what was a major scandal that affected some 2,000 people who were notified by the The Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust of a breach of trust, staff had been accessing medical records without appropriate authority for a sustained period of time.
It is understood that this was a case of multiple staff being involved, and it still remains to be seen as to what the motivations were for employees abusing their right of access.
Many people were understandably very distressed to learn that staff had been accessing medical records without any good reason to do so. We have launched No Win, No Fee legal cases for victims affected by the Greater Manchester privacy breach, and you are still in time to sign up for a claim if you have yet to do so.
Castlefields Health Centre and the Heath Road Medical Centre snooping incident
One of the other data breach group actions that we represent claimants for in respect of inappropriately accessing medical records involved the Castlefields Health Centre and the Heath Road Medical Centre.
In this case, some 45 patients were notified that their medical records had been accessed without a proper reason or authority to do so. We have taken cases forward on for those affected, and there is still time to pursue a claim if you were affected by this incident and you have yet to start your legal case.
Contact the Group Action Lawyers for help
The incidents involving the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust and the Castlefields Health Centre and the Heath Road Medical Centre are examples of where the trust that has been placed in medical professionals and employees has been broken. We expect our private and sensitive medical information to remain protected and confidential, and we do not expect people to abuse their rights of access.
To speak to the Group Action Lawyers team for help about joining one of our current actions, or to discuss a potential new action, please do not hesitate to contact the team here now. All our initial advice is available on a free, no-obligation and confidential basis.
For cases that we believe we can succeed with, we are more than happy to provide our expert legal representation for you on a completely No Win, No Fee basis.