Things You Should Know About Data Breach Lawsuits

A data breach occurs when a company or group that collects confidential information is broken into by an unauthorized individual for personal or political gain. In today’s electronic world, data breaches are easier than ever. Millions of websites offer online payment options and plenty of others give you the ability to do things like register to vote, renew your identification, get a credit history check, apply for loans, and much more. But what happens when one of these websites that collects this sensitive information is breached and your information is then stolen? The good news is you may be able to file a lawsuit in order to recover damages you have sustained.

Before you file your lawsuit, however, there are some things you should know about these particular cases. For starters, these lawsuits are becoming far more common than you might imagine. In fact, just this month Equifax announced one of the largest data breaches in history, with over 143 million people potentially impacted. However, despite the fact that you are clearly the one who has been wronged by having your information stolen, it can be tremendously difficult to hold these companies liable.

Do You Qualify?

Determining whether or not you qualify for one of these lawsuits is extremely complex, so you should talk to a Dallas commercial litigation attorney about your case before taking any legal action. Your attorney will take a look at several factors:

• Did the company who lost your information adopt safeguards that would have prevented the breach from occurring?
• Did the company notify you as soon as it learned of the data breach?
• Can you obtain a list of all individuals impacted by this breach?
• Did the company violate its own customer policies in a way that resulted in the breach?
• Are the company’s policies up to standards with the rest of the industry?
• Were any state or federal laws violated?

If these factors line up properly, you may be eligible to file a class-action suit against the company who was breached. In essence, a class action suit of this time consists of you pursuing damages on behalf of yourself and everyone else who was a victim of the breach. These damages can include the cost of replacing your credit and debit cards, service fees charged by your credit card company, expenses associated with correcting the erroneous information on your credit report, and any other out-of-pocket expenses you sustain.