Data breach group actions account for most of the group and multi-party actions that we’re involved in. Around three-quarters of the over 40 separate actions we’re representing people for involve some form of leak, breach or hack.
As such, this area of law is a particular specialty of ours.
When we are asked for help, or when we spot a potential data action, our lawyers and legal team act fast in order to see if we can help people. Although organisations can receive substantial fines form the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), this money is not used for compensation. For victims to be able to receive justice for what they have had to suffer, we can represent them on a No Win, No Fee basis and launch our own separate legal action.
We have a formal Group Litigation Order (GLO) established for victims of the 2018 cyberattacks that hit BA. It Is called the British Airways Data Event Group Litigation.
It is important to know that there is only one formal GLO for this case. Since news of the GLO forming hit the press, a few other law firms have started to invite people to register claims with them. This includes firms that were not present at the hearing, and it can become a bit of a minefield when it comes to knowing who is best to represent you for a case.
With this in mind, to make sure you are in the picture and avoid any confusion, we will set out some key information about the formal GLO as well as providing an insight into its aims and purpose.
The British Airways data class action is one of over 40 different group and multi-party actions that we’re involved with. If you’ve yet to join it and you want some more advice about it, we can help you.
This particular class action is somewhat of a pioneering one. It’s the first formal Group Litigation Order at the High Court of Justice in London that involves the GDPR that came into force in May 2018. The UK’s data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has the power to issue fines that can equate to 4% of a company’s global annual turnover. In fact, they have issued an intent to fine BA £183m; but this is dwarfed by the potential costs of the litigation that could reach £3bn for pay-outs and is entirely separate to the ICO fine.
If you have yet to join the BA Group Action, here’s some more information about what it is and what it entails.
The BA data breach class action is one of over 40 different group and multi-party actions that our lawyers are proudly fighting for justice in.
The BA case is also one of the most prominent ones for us as a firm because it is one of the actions that we represent a large volume of people in. We have been representing BA data breach claimants since news of the incidents first emerged, working on a No Win, No Fee basis for our clients.
If you have yet to start your BA Group Action case, here’s a little about what’s going on and what action you need to take.
Undoubtedly, the provisional British Airways GDPR fine in the sum of £183m, and the group action that could lead to an estimated cost of £3bn, were both avoidable.
All that was needed was for the airline to have had proper cybersecurity measures in place that could have prevented the 2018 cyber-attacks. Given what we know, and the fact that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has deemed it necessary to issue a fine, this whole scandal could have been avoided.
The fact that the attacks were successful is another example of big corporations being reactive as opposed to proactive. The costs of the fine and the litigation will no doubt serve as clear punishment for the fact that vital data protection laws have been breached. But make no mistake about it, this could have been prevented.
GDPR data breach rights have never been more prevalent in today’s digitalised age, especially when we’re seeing more and more breaches taking place all of the time.
As specialists in group action compensation, a large proportion of the over 40 different group and multi-party actions that we’re involved with now include data protection issues. These range from some of the earliest actions, like the TalkTalk hack and the 56 Dean Street Clinic leak, to huge cases like the BA Data Breach Group Action that we’re on the Steering Committee for.
With this in mind, we wanted to make sure that people are clear on how GDPR affects their rights when it comes to making a claim for compensation.
With the British Airways data breach group action getting the go ahead at the key hearing in early October, here’s a little information about the action and our firm’s position within it.
As a firm, our focus is on group action (sometimes referred to as class action) compensation cases, with consumer rights and data protection two areas of law that we specialise in. The BA Group Action is both a consumer and data protection matter, which is why we decided to take action as soon as news of the cyberattacks hit the media.
Since 2018, we’ve been taking cases forward on a No Win, No Fee basis. Given our participation in the action on the whole, we were appointed to the Steering Committee that’s responsible for the conduct of the litigation. Here’s a little information about the case so far.
The British Airways hack compensation group action is well underway following the key hearing that took place at the start of this month.
At the hearing, Mr Justice Warby paved the way for a landmark legal case when he approved the Group Litigation Order (GLO) and appointed our firm to the Steering Committee. The deadline for those who have yet to join the action was set, and the path to justice the hundreds of thousands of victims of the 2018 data breaches lies ahead.
We’re able to represent victims who claim with us on a No Win, No Fee basis. Our funding and insurance is in place for those who sign-up to join the BA Group Action with us.
Following the key court hearing at the start of October, the Group Action Lawyers has seen a surge in people signing up to join the BA Group Action lawsuit.
Mr Justice Warby gave the green light for a Group Litigation Order (GLO) to proceed, which means the entire potential Claimant pool (of around 500,000) can bring their claims together.
At the time of the hearing, only a few thousand people had started their case. Following the news of the GLO getting the go ahead, and news of the Steering Committee appointment, we’ve seen an expected influx of people now joining up to the BA Group Action.
The landmark BA group action court case has been given the go ahead to proceed as a Group Litigation Order (GLO) by Mr Justice Warby, with Your Lawyers appointed to the Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee firms will generally oversee the overall conduct of the proceedings, so we’re delighted with the decision. We’ve also succeeded in ensuring that there’s a reasonable deadline for people to join the action, which was something of a contended issue when BA’s lawyers had previously been in favour of a short cut-off date.
Although Claimants may now be able to join the BA Group Action up until around January 2021, we’re urging anyone who wants to start a case to do so sooner rather than later.
Those who were affected by the BA data breach incidents of 2018 are being urged to sign-up and join the BA Group Action as soon as possible.
For those who are yet to join, you should know that there’s an important court hearing that’s set to take place this Friday, 4th October 2019. At this hearing, the final court cut-off date to join the action may be established, and it may not be long until it expires.
You may not be aware of this, but the lawyers representing BA have previously been in favour of a very short cut-off date of just 17 weeks to join the case. This could mean hundreds of thousands of victims who have yet to start their claim may miss out.
Around 2,000 Greater Manchester NHS patients have been contacted by the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust with regards to unauthorised access of their medical records.
In typical cases where NHS employees have wrongfully accessed medical records, they’ve done so for people they know. These are usually cases of ‘snooping’ on partners, former partners, friends, neighbours and friends, for example. In this incident, a complaint resulted in an investigation that uncovered several incidents of improper access over an 18-month period, involving several NHS employees.
People whose medical records have been unlawfully accessed can be entitled to make a claim for data breach compensation. We’re taking cases forward on a No Win, No Fee basis having been contacted for help.