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If you’ve been injured in a crime of violence, you may have suffered physically, mentally, and financially. While there may be proceedings against the perpetrator, you may also claim compensation for your criminal injuries. Therefore, this guide will focus on the process of making a criminal injury compensation claim.
We will focus on the eligibility criteria for criminal injury claims and how your compensation for such injuries may be calculated. You will also learn about the applicable time limit and the type of evidence that can be submitted.
We will end this guide by looking at how a No Win No Fee solicitor of ours could help you with making such a claim.
Contact us now for more information on criminal injury compensation:
Criminal injuries are the injuries which you suffer as a result of a criminal act. Therefore, criminal injury claims are made to claim compensation for the injuries sustained in a criminal act.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is a government agency established to award compensation to victims who have been physically or mentally injured in a crime of violence in Great Britain. However, claiming through the CICA should be the last resort, and this option is not available if you haven’t explored the following avenues:
To know more about the working of the CICA, call us, and we will also discuss your criminal injury claim in great detail.
There are some specific eligibility requirements which need to be fulfilled when claiming through the CICA:
You can make a criminal injury compensation claim on behalf of your children by filling in their application form and submitting your details alongside proof of your relationship to one another. You can also ask a family member, friend or another trusted person to apply on your behalf. However, you will have to then submit confirmation that you authorise the person to receive instructions from the CICA regarding your claim.
The incident needs to be reported to the police; otherwise, the CICA will not process your criminal injury claim. While filling out the application, you will be asked to provide the police reference number. Therefore, reporting the incident is necessary before making a claim through the CICA.
Yes, a criminal injury claim can be made even against a person who hasn’t been convicted. The CICA will assess your claim through a balance of probabilities and may use the police reference number to request further information from the police.
A claim can be made even if the assailant is unknown, as long as the other criteria are fulfilled.
Want to know if you can claim with a criminal record or have any general questions regarding the eligibility of your case? You can contact our advisors.
In successful claims, the CICA will decide your compensation amount based on the fixed tariff provided in the Scheme.
The amounts listed in the tariff depend on the following factors:
We have compiled a table below summarising some of the criminal injury tariffs, except for the first row.
| Injury | Notes | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries and Special Expenses | There are physical and financial injuries, such as the need for a professional helper. | Up to £500,000 |
| Major Paralysis Not Because of Brain Damage- Tetraplegia (Upper and Lower Extremities) | There are substantially incomplete injuries in the lower limbs but complete in the upper limbs. | £250,000 |
| Major Paralysis Not Because of Brain Damage- Paraplegia (Lower Extremities) | This category is moderate paraplegia that is substantially incomplete. | £110,000 |
| Brain Injury- Very Serious | The senses are significantly impacted and there is a lot of physical impact along with reduced life expectancy. | £175,000 |
| Brain Injury- Moderately Severe | There is serious physical or mental disability and constant dependence on a professional. | £110,000 |
| Leg Injury- Leg Lost Above the Knee | There is an amputation of the leg from below the knee. | £33,000 |
| Pelvic Fracture | There is serious and ongoing disability. | £11,000 |
| Facial Scarring- Serious Disfigurement | There is scarring on the face which is seriously disfiguring. | £11,000 |
| Hand Injury- Permanent and Seriously Impairment of Grip | One hand has seriously impaired grip, which is permanent/ | £6,200 |
| Back Injury- One Fractured Vertebra | One of the vertebrae is fractured but there is recovery to a substantial extent. | £1,000 |
You can call us for some more examples of CICA payouts.
If you have suffered more than 1 injury, you may claim compensation for up to 3 injuries. Your payout in the criminal injury compensation claim will then be calculated using the multiple injuries formula:
It is also possible to receive additional compensation if the criminal attack leads to:
In addition to your physical injuries, you may be able to claim compensation for special expenses, such as:
You may also be able to claim for a loss of earnings after fulfilling certain requirements.
Use our criminal injury compensation calculator or speak to our advisors now for guidance for your case.
While making your criminal injury compensation claim, you will be asked to submit the following evidence to the CICA:
If the CICA needs further information while investigating your claim, they would be able to contact the police using the reference number.
Call us now for assistance in collecting evidence to ensure the maximum payout.
The time limit for starting a criminal injury claim is generally 2 years, which starts from the date of the crime. Exceptions can be made to this time limit, but the onus would be on you to prove the existence of exceptional circumstances which prevented you from claiming within the time limit. The CICA will also asses all of these exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
If you were below 18 years of age at the time of the incident, the time limits are as follows:
Contact our advisors now to find out how much time you have for your criminal injury claim.
It isn’t mandatory to hire a specialist criminal injuries solicitor to claim compensation. However, dealing with the aftermath of a criminal incident would become easier if you seek expert guidance. Our solicitors can help you in your criminal injury compensation claim by:
Our solicitors offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means you will not need to pay for their work or services:
Your criminal injury solicitor will charge only a certain percentage of your compensation (the success fee) if your claim succeeds. There is a legal limit on this percentage to ensure that you get to retain a maximum proportion of your payout.
Get in touch with our advisors today to see if you could work with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors for your claim. They could also help answer any questions you may have and offer you free advice regarding your case:
Additional criminal injury guides by us:
You can also go through some of these online resources:
Contact us with any questions you still have regarding making a criminal injury compensation claim.
