Protect client data

This follows the ruling in last month’s Google Inc. v Vidal-Hall Court case, where the Court of Appeal clarified the rules under the Data Protection Act 1988, which were previously interpreted as allowing compensation claims only if a data breach caused a financial loss.

Following clarification by the Court, Clause 13 of the Act will now be interpreted so that financial loss no longer needs to be shown for a compensation claim for emotional impact on the claimant, such as anxiety or distress. The previous interpretation had meant that compensation was not available for most breaches.

Furthermore, Moore Blatch warns that while all reputable organisations follow good data protection policies, more stringent practices need to be in place for data where a financial risk might be exposed by a data breach, such as the holding of bank or credit card details, as “appropriate measures” will be tougher in the financial sector.

The decision is likely to have a number of potentially wide ranging implications, including an increase in claims for compensation under Clause 13, and a likely rise in class actions, in which a large number of individuals have suffered emotional distress or invasion of privacy due to the same data breach. Such claims could be very costly to Dentists in terms of damages.