Criminal Compensation Claim
Further Information
Making A Criminal Injury Compensation Claim
If you are the victim of a violent crime in the UK, there are three different ways you can make a personal injury claim for compensation for your injury.
Assailant
The first is to make a personal injury compensation claim against the assailant directly; however, this is not usually recommended as even if your personal injury compensation claim is successful, it is difficult to enforce the judgment meaning you may win your case but still never receive the compensation from the guilty party.
Employer
The second way to make a personal injury compensation claim is against your employer. This would only apply if the attack / assault took place while you were at work and you feel that your employer exposed you to an unnecessary and foreseeable risk of personal injury which could have been avoided. In cases like this a personal injury lawyer might be able to make a claim against your employer as they would for any accident at work. To read more about how to make a claim against your employer after an attack, visit our Assaulted at Work Page .
CICA - Criminal Injury Compensation Authority
The third route to take is to make your personal injury claim against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority which assesses the injury claims and pays compensation to victims of violent crimes which have occurred in Great Britain (including British aircraft, hovercraft and ships but not Northern Ireland).
About the CICA
The purpose of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is to compensate victims of violent crime.
Several special criteria apply to claims made via the CICA; however, including: -
- A two year deadline for making your personal injury compensation claim instead of the usual three year deadline for other personal injury compensation claims.
- No legal costs are payable by the CICA, meaning that you must either deal with the CICA directly yourself and keep your full compensation award or appoint a personal injury solicitor to deal with the compensation claim for you and pay them a fee. Our solicitors generally work on a No Win No Fee basis meaning that they will only receive a payment if you win your case. If you are a Trade Union member you may be entitled to free legal advice via your scheme. Contact your Trade Union for more information or alternatively contact us and our experienced solicitors will assist with all aspects of making your claim.
- No personal injury valued at less than £1,000 will be considered as they deal with compensation claims for serious injuries only.
- Compensation is not paid for the first 28 weeks of lost earnings and the amounts are capped meaning that if you are a high earner, you may not be compensated fully for your lost earnings.
- Your own behaviour before, during and after the attack will be taken into account, as well as any criminal record you have and the manner in which you co-operate with the police (including reporting the assault to them with is a pre requisite term of the scheme.
It is possible that you could make a personal injury compensation claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority as well as against the assailant or your employer if appropriate; however the amount of compensation you receive from your employer would be deducted from any claim paid by the CICA.
All the CICA compensation would have to be refunded to the CICA if the civil damages exceeded any CICA award and all monies that you have received or may receive in the future as a result of the assault have to be declared to the CICA where some or all of that money may be taken into account.
What Next?
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