Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA)
Further Information
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) administers the criminal injuries compensation scheme. There are four possible types of compensation available to those injured because of a violent crime
- Compensation for injuries (Tariff award)
- Compensation because a loved one has died as a result of a violent crime
- Compensation for loss of earnings
- Compensation for special expenses
CICA are a government organisation that can pay money (compensation) to people who have been physically or mentally injured because they were the blameless victim of a violent crime.
They offer a free service, processing applications and making awards that range from £1,000 to £500,000 depending on the type of injuries sustained in the criminal event and the effects that they have on the victims life.
You may be eligible to apply if:
- You have been injured seriously enough to qualify for at least our minimum award (£1,000).
- You were injured in an act of violence in England, Scotland or Wales. An offender does not necessarily have to have been convicted of, or even charged with that crime, nor do you necessarily have to identify the perpetrator.
- You have made your application within two years of the incident that caused your injury. (But we might accept applications outside this limit if in your particular case it wasn't reasonable for an application form to have been submitted within two years of the incident and there would still be enough evidence for us to consider.)
The Compensation Scheme
If you have been injured because of a violent crime, there are four possible types of compensation you might be able to claim:
Compensation for injuries (Tariff award)
This type of compensation simply recognises that you have suffered the injury. This is called the 'standard amount of compensation' or 'tariff award'.
As well as the tariff award, you can also be compensated for loss of earnings and special expenses. However, you can only qualify for them if you also qualify for the tariff award.
Compensation because a loved one has died as a result of a violent crime
If your parent, child, husband, wife or partner (including same sex partners) has died as the result of a violent crime, you may be entitled to compensation (currently £11,000 if there is one person claiming, or £5,500 each if there is more than one person claiming). If you depended financially on the person who died, you may also be able to claim compensation for this. Generally you will also be entitled to a refund funeral expenses but, unfortunately, the CICA cannot pay funeral expenses before the claim has been assessed.
Compensation for loss of earnings
If you have lost earnings or the ability to earn for longer than 28 weeks as a direct result of the injury, you may claim for this. If you qualify for an award for loss of earnings, the CICA will pay compensation from the 29th week that you cannot work. If you want to apply for loss of earnings as well as for a tariff award, contact us and our criminal injury solicitors will give you all the information you need or alternatively will complete all forms on your behalf.
Compensation for special expenses
You can claim certain special expenses from a criminal injujry such as:
- the cost of medical treatment which cannot reasonably be provided by the National Health Service
- the cost of care provided by a residential establishment or at home
- the cost of adaptations that need to be made to your home as a result of your injury
As with compensation for loss of earnings, the CICA can pay for special expenses only if you were not able to work (or, if unemployed, would not have been able to work) for more than 28 weeks after the injury. But, unlike compensation for loss of earnings, if you qualify for compensation for special expenses, this will be paid this from the date of the injury, rather than starting at week 29.
If you want to apply for compensation for special expenses as well as for a tariff award, contact CompareTheSolicitor.com and our criminal injury solicitors will give you all the information you need or alternatively will complete all forms on your behalf.
Compensation for sexual offence
If you have been the victim of a sexual offence, our specialist solicitors can compensation from the CICA for this, too.
We understand that you may not wish to talk about what has happened to you but if you do need some support, our solicitors will be happy to assist in any way they can to ensure that the process is as straightforward as possible.
Victim Support is the national charity that helps people affected by crime and has local branches throughout England, Scotland and Wales. They can give you free and confidential support to help you deal with what you have been through.
As with any other application we will need to establish if you qualify for an award (we call this eligibility). Again, our trained solicitors will help you with this and assess the likelihood of recovering compensation.
The amount of compensation you may qualify for will vary from case to case. If you look at page 34 of The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2008 you may get an idea of the amounts we can award for sexual assault, and also of the terminology we use.
Criminal Injury Abroad
If you are a UK resident and were injured because of a criminal injury in another European Union (EU) country on or after 1 July 2005 our experienced criminal injury solicitors can help you apply for compensation from that country.
They can gain:
- Access to information about the system of compensation in the country where you were injured
- Application forms that will be filled in on your behalf
- Assisting and completing any other documents you might have to provide
- Sending your completed form to the right place
- Advice and guidance if you are asked for further information
If you or someone you know have suffered a criminal injury then please don’t hesitate to call one of our advisors for more information. Alternatively contact us on the form below providing some details of your case.
What Next?
In order to begin looking into your requirements we need some information from you. Please complete the form below and we will endeavour to contact you ASAP to discuss your situation.
