A London law firm has been accused of "ambulance chasing" for producing an advert offering its services on Facebook to people who may have had their HIV status disclosed by an NHS clinic, BuzzFeed News can reveal.
Brett Wilson LLP's ad, which promotes its "solicitors specialising in breach of confidence claims", comes after the 56 Dean Street sexual health clinic accidentally emailed 780 patients revealing their identities to each other.
BuzzFeed News has learned that "more than 20" patients from the clinic are now seeking legal action against the NHS trust responsible – using a different law firm.
The breach occurred earlier this month when the HIV-positive patients, who had signed up to an email service, were sent a group email revealing their details to the other recipients.
Several days later, Brett Wilson solicitors paid for the "suggested post" on Facebook, which reaches those who have not already liked a page, product or company, therefore enabling an advert to reach a wider, targeted audience.
One recipient of the Facebook advert, who did not want to be identified, said he believes the suggested post appeared on his page because it is clear from his profile that he is involved in the HIV sector.
The promoted post included a headline about the leak of patient data, and a link to the law firm's website setting out how its solicitors could help those affected who might want to sue the NHS.
The link leads to a page describing the data breach, adding, "Click here to find out how Brett Wilson LLP can help you if you have suffered as a result of your confidential medical information being leaked."
A representative from Facebook confirmed that advertisers can target suggested posts by both location – within, for example, a few miles of the clinic in question – and the interests of the Facebook users. Someone who likes or links to an HIV charity could be sought out by such adverts.
56 Dean Street
Facebook and Twitter users have criticised the firm for attempting to profit from the error and from the NHS.
"Making money from a genuine one-off mistake by one of UK's best #HIV clinics? #disgusting #vultures," tweeted one user with a picture of the advert.
Making money from a genuine one-off mistake by one of UK's best #HIV clinics? #disgusting #vultures @brettwilsonllp
Iain Wilson, a partner at Brett Wilson, defended the ad. "We want our content to get to the most relevant people," he told BuzzFeed News.
He added: "We produce a blog on privacy and libel matters. We publish and disseminate and promote our blog pieces through Facebook and various other social media channels. Anything we blog about is related to our practice areas and the intention is to promote the work we do."
Asked whether they specifically targeted people who are interested in HIV, Wilson replied: "Any law firm that's putting out any blog about an area of law they do is obviously going to promote their profile, just like a law firm will put out pieces about phone hacking and obviously they want to be instructing people who are accused of phone hacking or who have a claim for phone hacking."
Asked whether in this instance Brett Wilson specifically opted to target people on Facebook who link to HIV organisations, Wilson said: "I don't know."
This picture, taken by BuzzFeed News, of Facebook's ad manager tool, shows how advertisers can target people interested in HIV.
Other law firms, such as The Injury Lawyers, have advertised their service to patients affected by the data breach – but not through sponsored posts on Facebook.
The website claims the firm's lawyers are "already taking on cases for victims of what is one of the biggest data protection breach [sic] ever seen".
The firm told BuzzFeed News they were working on "numerous claims" by patients at 56 Dean Street, but declined to specify the number involved. Its website advises patients on whether they can make a claim.
Another firm, Leigh Day, which has not advertised its services in this matter, did reveal the numbers of patients it is representing, however.
Sean Humber, a human rights lawyer and a partner at Leigh Day, said: "We've been approached by a number of those who've been affected and we are advising in relation to possible legal claims. It is currently over 20 [patients], but we are receiving more inquiries by the day. One of their major concerns of people I have spoken to is whether there will be any further publication of this information."
The legal claims are likely to take several months, said Humber, who added that any successful claims are "unlikely to be life-changing amounts of money" despite the "sensitivity of the information disclosed".