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Litigation Capital to finance claim against Google, DeepMind for unlawful use of medical records

Published: 07:25 16 May 2022 BST

Litigation Capital Management Ltd -

Litigation Capital Management Ltd (AIM:LIT) (LCM) said it has entered into a litigation finance agreement for a new High Court claim on behalf of up to 1.6mln individuals against Google and DeepMind Technologies for the unlawful use of confidential medical records

The representative claim is for the misuse of private information and arises out of an arrangement formed with the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust by Google and its DeepMind artificial intelligence arm in 2015.

The tech companies obtained and used confidential and private patient data from three London hospitals run by the NHS Trust without patients' knowledge or consent, according to UK law firm Mishcon de Reya, which has brought the claim.

LCM said the claim provides access to justice and a means of compensation which would not have been viable on an individual basis due to the cost of the litigation process.

“Not only does it provide a means of redress to those affected by the misuse of their private and confidential medical records but this is also a significant claim for LCM to support and fund,” the company said.

Patrick Moloney, chief executive of LCM, added: "LCM has a long and deep experience in funding large scale actions, many of which would not be possible without litigation funding. As pioneers of the industry, we are well-placed to support the claim in this action."

In 2017, Google's use of medical records from the hospital's patients to test a software algorithm was deemed legally “inappropriate” by the National Data Guardian at the Department of Health.

Lead claimant Andrew Prismall said last year that he was concerned to find that a tech giant had ended up with his confidential medical records. “As a patient having any sort of medical treatment, the last thing you would expect is your private medical records to be in the hands of one of the world's biggest technology companies,” he said in a statement.

“I hope that this case will help achieve a fair outcome and closure for all of the patients whose confidential records were obtained in this instance without their knowledge or consent.”

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