Privacy breach leads to £75k pay out in compensation

A woman who had her private life and medical history used to help train staff without her permission has received a huge pay out for the breach of her privacy.
The woman in question had been a victim of domestic abuse and she had agreed that a Police force could use her individual case and her experiences for the purpose of helping officers to try and spot the signs of abuse. She agreed to this only if she remained anonymous, along with all people connected with the case.

This, however, did not happen and her identity and details of her medical records were revealed and when she discovered this breach of her privacy, she ‘felt betrayed’.

The out-of-court settlement of £75,000 , which is believed to be one of the biggest awards by a Police force, was reached after the force in question initially rejected that the claimant had ‘suffered’ as a result of her personal details being made public.

The Police had a safeguarding duty of care to protect victims of violence and abuse from further harm including the emotional distress of learning that their privacy rights were being breached.

A spokesperson for the force said: “The force has taken action to protect the individual’s information to prevent any issue in the future.”

“We have apologised to the woman involved. This was an unacceptable mistake; however, it was done with the best of intentions as part of training for partner agencies around recognising the signs of domestic abuse.”

Councils, schools, hospitals and emergency services have strict privacy rules to protect individuals identity and create a safe environment for us to share our lives with organisations that are there often to help us. We offer a free initial interview in order to review your specific circumstances and assess the viability of your potential claim.

To speak to one of our specialist team call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 093 2030, or complete our simple enquiry form and we can call you back at a time to suit you.