In this guide, we will look at the process of claiming criminal injuries compensation. If you’ve been injured as the result of a crime of violence, you may be able to claim compensation for your injuries.
Criminal injuries compensation guide
You may be able to claim directly against the person you were injured by. However, you would need to know who they are and they would need to have the funds available to compensate you.
However, you could claim compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). They are a government-sponsored organisation that awards compensation to people who have sustained physical or psychological damage as a result of a crime of violence.
Our team of advisers are on hand 24 hours a day to offer legal advice for free and look at whether your claim is legitimate. If it is, you may then be able to make a criminal injuries compensation claim with a criminal injury lawyer from our panel.
Our team of advisers are available on:
- 0800 408 7825 to have a chat about your case.
- Our online contact form where you can then request a call back at your earliest convenience.
- Our instant chat feature to chat with an adviser immediately.
Select A Section
- What Is A Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim?
- Common Types Of Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim
- When Are You Eligible To Make A Criminal Injury Claim?
- What Could You Be Compensated For?
- CICA Tariff For Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims
- Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims
- Related Criminal Injury Claim Sources
What Is A Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim?
A criminal injuries compensation claim can offer you compensation for the physical, financial, and mental injuries you’ve suffered due to a criminal injury. Criminal injury claims tend to be made through the CICA. However, you may be able to claim against the perpetrator directly in some instances.
How Does The Criminal Injury Claim Process Work?
There are three stages to a CICA claim. We have listed these below:
- Initial process – This is when you first submit your claim to the CICA.
- Review process – If you don’t agree with what the CICA decides in terms of your compensation, you can ask them to review it. However, you’ll need to provide them with any additional information that could be used to support your claim.
- Appeal process – You may still disagree with the CICA’s decision. If so, you can then appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation).
For more information on the process of making criminal injury claims, get in touch with us today. You could be connected with a solicitor from our panel to work on your claim.
Common Types Of Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim
There are various different types of criminal injury that you could sustain. You can claim for both physical injuries and an impact on your mental health through the CICA.
Here are some examples of crimes of violence that could entitle you to make a claim:
- GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm)
- ABH (Actual Bodily Harm)
- Child abuse
- Assault
- Sexual assault or rape
The above graph includes statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing police recorded violent and sexual offences involving a knife or sharp object. These statistics run from April 2021 to June 2021.
There were 5,917 instances of people being assaulted with an intent to cause serious harm with a sharp object, making this the most commonly reported incident type in this time period. The least commonly reported incident type was sexual assault with a sharp object, with 73 reports.
When Are You Eligible To Make A Criminal Injury Claim?
There are certain criteria you must meet in order to make a criminal injury claim. To make a claim through the CICA, the crime must have occurred in England, Wales, or Scotland.
You must report the crime to the police in order to claim through the CICA. This should be done as soon as possible (usually directly after the incident). However, the CICA may be able to consider claims where exceptional circumstances have prevented you from doing so.
To make a criminal injuries compensation claim through the CICA, you must begin your claim no longer than 2 years after the incident occurred. In some cases, this time limit can be extended if exceptional circumstances mean that you weren’t able to start your claim within this time limit.
If you were a child when you were injured, then you have 2 years from your 18th birthday to make a claim, provided that the incident was reported. If the incident wasn’t reported, you have 2 years from the date you report it to claim. While you’re under the age of 18, your parent or guardian can pursue a child injury claim on your behalf.
When you make a claim directly against the perpetrator, you have 3 years in which to start the claim.
To see if you are within the time limit to start a claim for criminal injury compensation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team of advisers to discuss your specific situation.
What Could You Be Compensated For?
When you claim compensation through the CICA, you can receive payment for your injury alongside special expenses. The amount you receive for your injury will be based on the CICA tariff of injuries.
Special expenses can cover financial losses you’ve experienced as a result of being injured. These must be reasonable, necessary and incurred as a direct result of the incident in question. You could also be compensated for loss of earnings.
In order to claim special expenses, you will need to have lost out on earnings for at least 28 weeks following the incident. Many of the special expenses can be backdated; however, you will only be compensated for a loss of earnings from week 29 onwards, and this will be paid at the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rate.
If you are claiming against the perpetrator directly, you could be compensated for general and special damages. General damages cover your injuries, whereas special damages can cover any financial losses that your injuries have caused you.
Our team of advisers are available around the clock to chat with you about your specific circumstances. Don’t hesitate to get in touch for free legal advice about criminal injuries compensation.
CICA Tariff For Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims
The below table shows how much compensation you could be awarded for your injuries. These are the latest figures included in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
| Injury: | Notes: | Compensation: |
|---|---|---|
| Arm | Loss of a non-dominant arm | £3,500 |
| Face | Jaw dislocation – significant continuing disability | £3,500 |
| Elbow | One elbow is dislocated or fractured with continuing significant disability. | £6,200 |
| Arm | Fracture to the radius in one arm with a substantial recovery. | £1,500 |
| Skull | Simple skull fracture that doesn’t require an operation | £1,000 |
| Skull | Simple skull fracture that requires an operation | £3,500 |
| Brain damage | Moderate brain damage resulting in an alteration of personality, being less able to work, and an impact on senses. The severity is significant. | £82,000 |
| Brain damage | Very serious brain injury. This results in language function disappearing or reducing significantly, incontinence, and nursing care required for part of the night and all of the day time. | £25,000 |
| Ear | Complete deafness that’s permanent in both ears. | £44,000 |
| Ear | Complete deafness that’s permanent in one ear. | £16,500 |
If you claim against your assailant directly, then your compensation won’t be based on this tariff of injuries. Instead, your compensation will be assessed with the help of guidelines from the Judicial College. You will also be invited to a medical appointment so that the extent of your injuries can be fully assessed.
Our team of advisers would be happy to explore the compensation figure you may be owed and offer you legal advice for free. If you have a valid claim, they can then connect you to an expert criminal injury lawyer from our panel to start the claims process and discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you.
Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims
A No Win No Fee agreement is an agreement between you and your solicitor. This states the conditions that need to be met before you’re asked to pay them. It means that there won’t be any upfront or ongoing fees due while your solicitor works on your claim.
If you don’t succeed in your claim, you won’t be asked to pay your lawyer’s fees. Your lawyer will deduct a legally capped percentage of your compensation if it’s successful. This is known as a “success fee”.
To discuss No Win No Fee agreements in more depth, you can have a chat with our team of advisers who can give you free legal advice.
You can have a chat with a friendly adviser from our team by:
- Ringing them on 0800 408 7825 to then discuss your claim.
- Requesting a call back by filling out our online claims form.
- Talking to an adviser through our live pop-up chatbox to then get an immediate reply.
Related Criminal Injury Claim Resources
Help And Compensation For Rape Victims – If you’ve been the victim of rape, you may be able to make a criminal injury claim. Read this guide for more information.
Claiming Hit And Run Compensation Through The CICA– This guide looks at the scenarios in which you may be able to claim hit and run compensation through the CICA.
Historic Sexual Abuse Claims– If you’ve been the victim of historic sexual abuse, you could be entitled to compensation. Read on to find out more.
Rape Crisis England and Wales- This is a charity offering support to the work of Rape Crisis Centres in England and Wales.
Reporting a Crime- This page tells you how to report a crime to the police; this is necessary in making a CICA claim.
CPS: Offences Against the Person– This page explains the different crimes that can constitute offences against a person, including Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) and Actual Bodily Harm (ABH).
Thank you for reading our guide about criminal injuries compensation.
Article by OA
Publisher ET