Background

Dan Higham, part of Irvings Law’s thriving and specialist data breach department, has successfully represented a client in an action against the Ministry of Justice for breach of the General Data Protection Regulations 2018, a breach of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998, a breach of confidence and a misuse of private information. The involved client is a prisoner and made a Subject Access Request for his prison file. However, the documentation was inadvertently sent to another inmate in error and without the said client’s permission or consent.

Representation

The client proceeded to instruct Mr Higham and without hesitation, offered no win, no fee terms. After this, Mr Higham submitted a Letter of Claim to the Prison Service on behalf of the said client alleging the above-mentioned causes of action.

The Letter of Claim also alleged that the Ministry of Justice should have kept the client’s personal data secure and they should have ensured that the said data was not recklessly disclosed to anyone else other than the client. The Government Legal Department (on behalf of the Prison) acknowledged receipt of the Letter of Claim and, in their response, accepted that their actions amounted to a breach of the above-mentioned causes of action.

Resolution

After the Government Legal Department‘s admission of liability, they engaged in settlement discussions with Mr Higham and the said client then settled his claim for an amount that he does not wish to make public.