The Price of Privacy: Can A Data Breach Cause A Lawsuit?

The modern world depends on digital databases, and when you give your sensitive data to places like hospitals, stores, and financial institutions, you expect they will protect your digital information seriously and responsibly.

Nevertheless, cyberattacks and data breaches to such databases can expose your vulnerable data and put you at risk of personal and financial damages. Have you recently experience losses due to a data breach? Lucky for you because you can claim compensation from the organization liable for the breach through a lawsuit.

What’s a data breach, by the way?

Every time you sign up with a new bank, make an online purchase or even go to your dentist, the entity or company enters your data into a database to benefit the client and user experience. Data breaches occur when a hacker finds a method to exploit vulnerable areas within the database to decode the security measures protecting your information.

Hence, hackers could have access to your Social Security numbers, credit card details, emails, and other important personal info you like to keep confidential.

Data breaches normally happen for one of two reasons. A hacker might exploit an organization’s database for personal benefit. They may like to sell the information to make money or utilize the accessible financial data to make purchases.

Or, a hacker may like to cause a problem for the organization and its users. For instance, the infamous Ashley Madison hack in 2015 exploited its users’ data and email addresses. Since the dating site was catering to individuals who liked to have extramarital affairs, the data breach caused massive damage to the organization’s reputation. It ruined the personal lives and image of its users.

Potential damages in a data breach lawsuit

The website or company where the data breach happened might not be liable for the breach itself, and filing a lawsuit against the hacker might not be your best choice. If you’ve suffered damages, you can attempt to hold the breached organization accountable for the failure to keep your sensitive information safe and the trouble that the breach caused.

You can claim substantial compensation through a data breach lawsuit, depending on the type of breach you’re a victim of and the damages you experienced. Working with a consumer protection lawyer can help you identify the damages you can justify legally, which may involve the following:

• Emotional damage connected with the breach, like damage to reputation, damage to credit, emotional distress, and invasion of privacy
• The cost of credit reports and credit insurance
• Service charges for tracking and safeguarding your data after the breach
• The cost of fixing data damaged by the breach
• The cost of changing your debit and credit cards
• Any out-of-pocket expenses you shell out because of the breach

Are you a victim of a data breach? Then it’s possible to gather info through a lawsuit against the organization liable for putting your data at risk. Contact a data breach lawyer immediately to talk about your legal options once you’ve taken reasonable actions to lower the breach’s effect.