By Stephen Anderson. Last Updated 28th August 2024. This is a guide on claiming compensation for those who have been injured as a result of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH). In this guide, we will look at the channels that are available to you in claiming GBH compensation.
When making a criminal injury claim, you could claim against the perpetrator directly if you know who they are and they have the funds to provide compensation. However, this may not always be possible.
You can make a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) if you don’t know who your attacker was, or if they’re able to pay you compensation. This is a government-sponsored executive agency that aims to compensate victims of violent crime. This could include sexual assault, rape and GBH.
Compensation from the CICA is set in a tariff of injuries in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The figures are set at a flat rate, so there is no need to take a case to court to negotiate more compensation. However, if you’re unhappy with the decision that has been made there is the option to appeal.
Read on to find out more about how to claim GBH compensation. You can also get in touch with us at any time for free, specialised legal advice about your claim. Our team of advisors can connect you with a solicitor from our panel to start a criminal injury claim today.
- Ring us on 0800 408 7825
- Use our online contact form
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Select A Section
- Applying To The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
- What Harm Could Be Caused By GBH?
- How Does The CICA Compensation Process Work?
- Compensation For GBH – How Is It Calculated?
- Start Your No Win No Fee GBH Compensation Claim Now
Applying To The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
To claim compensation for GBH through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, you must meet certain eligibility requirements. These include the following:
- The incident must have been reported to the police. The CICA will ask for your police reference number when you submit a claim to them.
- You need to adhere to the time limit for starting a CICA claim. This is generally two years from the date that you reported the incident to the police. You are expected to report the incident to the police right away. However, the time limit can work differently under certain circumstances.
- You must be claiming for physical injuries or mental injuries (or both) inflicted in a crime of violence. A crime of violence is defined as an attack, act or omission that is violent in nature that causes harm, reasonable firmness to be in fear of an attack due to a threat, sexual assault and arson. As part of the claiming process, you will need to provide medical evidence of your injuries.
- The incident must have occurred in England, Scotland, Wales or another relevant location.
While you will require your police reference number to start your grievous bodily harm claim, you will not need to wait for a conviction, or for your assailant to be caught before starting the process. That’s because, unlike in criminal cases, where guilt must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, the CICA will assess your claim based on the balance of probabilities.
If you need any help with starting your GBH compensation claim, speak with one of the advisors from our team today.
What Harm Could Be Caused By GBH?
Due to the broad nature of offences that could be considered GBH, there could be a multitude of injuries that result from it. These could include, but are not limited to:
- Dislocations and fractures, like a dislocated shoulder or a fractured neck
- Cuts and bruises
- Laceration injuries
- Brain damage
- Internal injuries due to physical abuse, for example, a kidney injury
The injuries resulting from grievous bodily harm could lead to serious and permanent consequences. If this has happened, you could claim compensation.
For example, if you were the victim of an acid attack and you suffered bodily harm as a result, you could potentially make a claim. Another example could be if someone stabbed you during a mugging. In both instances, the perpetrator used unlawful force purposefully.
How Does The CICA Compensation Process Work?
This section will highlight the key steps in the GBH compensation process. For the most part, the steps for claiming through the CICA could go as follows:
- Report the incident to the police
- Seek medical attention
- Hire a solicitor. This isn’t a legal requirement but is something we always recommend to make the claims process run more smoothly.
- Collect evidence. This could be evidence of the incident (for example, in the form of witness statements or CCTV footage), of your injuries (you could provide medical records) or of any financial impact that your criminal injury has had on you.
Get in touch with our advisors today. A member of our team may be able to connect you with a solicitor from our panel who can help you.
Compensation For GBH – How Is It Calculated?
If you submit a successful claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, then you could be awarded compensation to address the harm you have suffered. The value of claims made to the CICA is determined by a tariff of injuries set out in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.
The tariff includes provisions for numerous scenarios, including those involving grievous bodily harm It allows you to seek compensation based on the following:
- The type of assault you have experienced.
- The number of times you were assaulted.
- Injuries you sustained from being assaulted.
In the table below, you can view some of the tariff of injuries that may apply when claiming compensation for GBH. You can claim for up to three injuries under this tariff. You’ll receive 100% of the tariff’s value for the highest valued injury. For the second highest value injury, you’ll receive 30% of the tariff value. For the third highest value injury, you’ll be given 15% of the tariff value.
Please note that the first entry in this table is an estimated figure for multiple injuries and is not based on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
| Area of the Body | Injury Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries Plus Financial Losses | Serious | Up to £500,000 |
| Brain | Very Serious Brain Injury | £250,000 |
| Lower Extremities | Paraplegia | £175,000 |
| Eyes | Loss of Sight | £110,000 |
| Arm | Loss | £55,000 |
| Face | Burns | £27,000 |
| Ear | Loss of Ear | £19,000 |
| Great Toe | Loss | £13,500 |
| Wrist | Fracture | £11,000 |
You could also claim special expenses or loss of earnings in your GBH compensation claim. Special expenses aim to cover costs that have directly resulted from your injury. You could potentially claim for:
- Funeral costs
- Adaptions to the home
- The cost of physical aids
- Property damage
To claim special expenses, you must prove the costs to be reasonable and necessary. You also need to have been out of work for 28 weeks or more due to your injury. However, special expenses payments will be backdated to reflect losses from the date of your injury.
In order to make a loss of earnings claim, you must also have been out of work for at least 28 weeks. However, you will only be compensated for the loss of earnings from week 29 onwards.
Get in touch with our advisors today for more details on how much compensation you could claim through the CICA.
Start Your No Win No Fee GBH Compensation Claim Now
When you hire a solicitor in the traditional way, you may end up paying large legal fees with no guarantee of receiving compensation.
You should know that the solicitors on our panel offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. This means you are not required to pay your solicitor for their work if your compensation claim doesn’t succeed. You also don’t need to be worried about upfront or ongoing costs.
However, your solicitor will deduct a success fee as payment if your compensation claim is successful. Your solicitor will only take this once your compensation is fully paid. The success fee is subject to a legal cap, meaning you will keep the majority of the compensation you are awarded.
Does a No Win No Fee agreement sound appealing to you? Why not get in touch with our team of advisors today for more information? They could pass you on to a criminal injury solicitor from our panel to help you start your compensation claim.
You can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Use our online contact form
- Use the live chat window you see below
Support For Victims of Assault
- Manslaughter and Murder Victim Compensation Claims – A guide on how to claim for victims of murder or manslaughter.
- Historic Sexual Abuse Claims – This article could help you if you’re wondering whether you could be compensated for historic sexual abuse.
- Can You Claim for a Hit and Run Via the CICA? – Our guide on if you could claim for a hit and run accident through the CICA.
- Victim Support – A registered charity that helps those affected by traumatic incidents and crime in England and Wales.
- Get Support as a Victim of Crime – A government page on the support options available to you as a victim of crime.
- Victim and Witness Support – The Crown Prosecution Service’s page on their commitments to support victims and witnesses of crime.
Thank you for reading our guide on how to claim GBH compensation.