A criminal injury is physical or mental harm resulting from a crime of violence. In this guide, we answer frequently asked questions about how to make a criminal injury compensation claim. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) handles a lot of criminal injury claims. As such, this guide focuses on claiming through the CICA.
To begin, we discuss what the CICA is and the eligibility criteria you will need to prove in order to begin a claim through the CICA for criminal injury compensation. This includes what time limit is in place to begin a claim.
We then discuss the importance of a police crime reference number when making a claim in this manner and look at how criminal injuries are valued under a fixed tariff that the CICA uses.
To conclude, we look at how our panel of solicitors could potentially benefit you under No Win No Fee terms.
No one should be subject to a violent crime. If you are suffering with criminal injuries, we can help you. To see whether you are entitled to compensation, please contact us using one of the below details. All of our contact options are free to use and live 24/7.
- Call 0800 408 7825.
- Submit an enquiry form on our ‘Contact Us’ page.
- Message in our live chat box.
Jump To A Section
- What Is The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)?
- Can You Make A Criminal Injury Compensation Claim Through The CICA?
- What Is The CICA Claim Time Limit?
- Can I Claim If I Have Misplaced My Police Crime Reference Number?
- How Much Compensation Could You Receive From The CICA Compensation Tariff?
- How Quickly Will You Receive Your Criminal Injuries Compensation?
- What Are The Advantages Of Using No Win No Fee Solicitors?
- More Useful Information About Making A Criminal Injury Compensation Claim
What Is The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)?
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is an agency that exists in Great Britain, created by the Government as an avenue for victims of violent crime to receive compensation. Domestic violence, sexual assault, grievous bodily harm (GBH), and arson are all examples of types crimes of violence.
As part of their role, they administer the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. This scheme uses set tariffs to work out compensation values for successful criminal injury claims.
In certain circumstances, you might be able to make a criminal injury claim directly against the perpetrator. However, this is not always possible. For example, if the perpetrator has not been identified. In these cases, the CICA could handle your claim.
Please get in touch with us today to see whether you can begin a criminal injury compensation claim.
Can You Make A Criminal Injury Compensation Claim Through The CICA?
If you would like to make a criminal injury compensation claim through the CICA, you need to satisfy their eligibility criteria. This is:
- You were harmed/injured from a violent crime. The CICA defines violent crime as a physical attack, omission or other act that is violent in nature, a threat of such an incident, sexual assault and arson.
- The incident took place in either Scotland, England, or Wales. Or, alternatively, another relevant location (such as on a boat that is registered to Great Britain).
- You reported the incident to the police.
- You begin the process within the CICA claims time limit.
The CICA will ask you to provide a few items to prove that you are eligible to claim:
- A police crime reference number from when you reported the incident.
- Proof of residency.
- Copies of your medical records, plus other medical evidence, to show what your criminal injuries are.
Please contact us to confirm that you are eligible for criminal injury compensation. If you meet the eligibility, our advisors could connect you with a specialist criminal injury lawyer from our panel.
What Is The CICA Claim Time Limit?
The criminal injuries compensation claims time limit is usually 2 years and commences from the date of the incident.
However, under exceptional circumstances, the time limit may change:
- If a minor (a person under the age of 18) was subject to a violent crime, and the incident was reported before their 18th birthday, then the 2-year time limit will commence on their 18th birthday.
- If a minor was subject to a violent crime, but the incident was not reported before their 18th birthday, then it is possible that the 2-year time limit could commence from the date that the incident is reported, as long as this is done as soon as is reasonably possible. If the incident was not reported straight away, then the person must prove that an application was not put forward earlier due to exceptional circumstances (such as historical abuse cases).
For more information on whether you are within the time limit to claim as a victim of crime, please contact our advisors on the number at the top of the page.
Can I Claim If I Have Misplaced My Police Crime Reference Number?
As we have previously mentioned, you must provide a police crime reference number to be eligible to make a criminal injury compensation claim through the CICA.
So, if you have misplaced/lost your police reference number, then you should contact the police and ask them for it. They will have a record of it so, once they provide you with it, you can then provide this information to the CICA.
Does It Impact My Claim If Nobody Is Convicted Of The Crime?
A criminal injury compensation claim can still be made through the CICA even if there has been no conviction.
Section 3 of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 states that the CICA’s decision on awarding compensation is based, similar to in a civil court case, on the balance of probabilities. This is instead of needing to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The CICA can also make a decision during the process of a criminal trial. This means that instead of needing to prove the perpetrator’s guilt, the CICA will base their decision on the likelihood of them having committed the crime.
We recommend that you contact us as soon as you can so that we can check the eligibility of your potential criminal injury compensation claim.
How Much Compensation Could You Receive From The CICA Compensation Tariff?
Compensation for criminal injuries are awarded under the tariff of injuries set out in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.
Under this scheme, the set tariffs consider these factors:
- The psychological and physical impacts of your criminal injury.
- Whether any symptoms are permanent.
- The extent of the incident.
Furthermore, you might be able to claim for sustaining multiple types of criminal injuries, and if so, the CICA will apply the multiple injuries formula. These are the conditions of this formula:
- You are awarded 100% compensation for the most serious injury.
- You are awarded 30% compensation for the 2nd most serious injury.
- You are awarded 15% compensation for the 3rd most serious injury.
However, certain injuries are not subject to this formula. If the incident resulted in pregnancy, losing a pregnancy or contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), you could be awarded an additional payment.
In the table below, we have included some of these scheme payouts for a few types of criminal injuries. We’ve also included a figure in the top row that shows how you could be compensated for multiple injuries plus financial losses. This figure is not from the Compensation Scheme.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Tariff amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries plus special expenses | Serious | Up to £500,000 |
| Tetraplegia | Substantially complete to both lower and upper limbs. | £250,000 |
| Brain injury | Very serious | £175,000 |
| Moderately severe | £110,000 | |
| Hemiplegia | Severe | £110,000 |
| Permanent mental injury, confirmed by prognosis of psychiatrist | Seriously disabling | £27,000 |
| Moderately disabling | £19,000 | |
| Face scarring | Serious disfigurement | £11,000 |
| Torso burns | Severe | £11,000 |
What Financial Losses Could Be Claimed Through The CICA?
If your criminal injury compensation claim is successful, you may be awarded special expenses for the financial losses you have suffered. The costs you would like to recover need to be directly incurred by your injury as well as both reasonable and necessary.
Special expenses may include:
- The cost of home adaptations, such as installing a stair lift, if the incident has affected your mobility.
- The cost of repairs to any personal aid equipment, such as hearing aids, if it was damaged during the incident.
- Any costs for professional support and care needed that relate to food preparations or bodily functions.
You may also claim compensation for your loss of earnings if certain criteria are met.
If you have any questions regarding the amount of criminal injury compensation that could possibly be awarded, please have a chat with us today.
How Quickly Will You Receive Your Criminal Injuries Compensation?
There is no set time frame to how long it can take for a criminal injury compensation claim to be completed. Although the CICA aims to resolve claims as quick as they can, there are numerous variables that can change how long it can take, such as:
- The response time from the police during their investigation. The CICA will need to liaise with the police during the case.
- The response time for getting your medical records to show the extent of your criminal injuries. If you need longer hospital treatment due to the severity of your injuries being more permanent, then the CICA may not be able to make a final decision while you’re having ongoing treatment.
- What sort of special expenses you have suffered and how quickly you can acquire your evidence of these.
However, the CICA do state that the majority of claims are resolved within 12 months. Plus, once a final compensation amount is accepted, they aim to pay criminal injury compensation within 20 working days.
Criminal injury compensation claims can be quite complicated, even through the CICA. So, having legal help can be extremely beneficial for you.
To possibly receive legal help from our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors, please contact us. Our panel can help you through each step of the criminal injuries claims process.
What Are The Advantages Of Using No Win No Fee Solicitors?
If you are eligible to claim compensation, you may like to do so with the support of a solicitor. One of the criminal injuries solicitors from our panel could help you with your claim on a No Win No Fee basis. They may offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
Here are the advantages of claiming through a CFA:
- There are no solicitor fees to pay before the claims process starts.
- There are no solicitor fees to pay throughout the claims process.
- If your criminal injury claim is unsuccessful, there are no solicitor fees to pay at all.
If your criminal injury compensation claim is successful, a success fee will be taken out of your compensation. The success fee is a percentage, legally capped at 25% to ensure that you definitely receive the majority of your compensation.
Contact Us
Contact us today if you want to speak with an advisor about a potential criminal injury compensation claim. Our team are available to contact for free 24/7:
- Call 0800 408 7825.
- Submit an enquiry form on our ‘Contact Us’ page.
- Message in our live chat box.
More Useful Information About Making A Criminal Injury Compensation Claim
Here are a few of our other guides about criminal injury claims:
- Find out how to make a criminal injury claim after an acid attack.
- Read our case study for suffering PTSD after an assault.
- More information on what the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority is.
Additionally, we think these pages might provide you with useful information:
- Victim Support – a charity that helps anyone who has been injured from a violent crime.
- Police.UK – you can report a crime to the police using this page.
- NHS – information on how to perform first aid after an incident.
Thank you for reading our FAQ guide on making a criminal injury compensation claim. If you have any other questions that have not been covered in this guide, please don’t hesitate to ask us.
