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Criminal Injury Compensation Claims

If you’ve sustained an injury due to a crime of violence, you may be entitled to criminal injuries compensation. You may be asking though what criminal injuries compensation is and when are you eligible to claim it. On this site, we examine all the different aspects of claiming compensation for different types of criminal injuries.

What is criminal injuries compensation? A guide

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is the body that can award compensation to victims of violent crimes. You can read on to learn more about what the CICA is and what they compensate for. In addition to this, we’ll look at who could claim compensation through the CICA.

Also, this page discusses examples of CICA payouts and using a criminal injuries compensation calculator based on the injuries tariffs you could be awarded in a CICA claim. Details of the CICA tariff table is included further down this page. We will also look at what you could claim under special expenses and what the eligibility criteria for claiming is.

To file a CICA claim, you must be able to provide evidence. We explore what steps you can take after a criminal injury to support your claim for compensation.

We explain what a No Win No Fee arrangement is and why using a solicitor might make the process of claiming feel easier, regardless of whether you are claiming through CICA or filing a personal injury claim against the person who injured you directly.

If you’ve been harmed due to a crime of violence, contact our advisors. Free legal advice is available from the number at the top of your screen. They can answer the question, “what is criminal injuries compensation?” and explain the differences between a personal injury claim and a CICA claim.

The Criminal Injury Claims Process

Learn about how we process CICA claims:

Supporting your claim

We can arrange medical assessments to ensure your claim is valued correctly.

Valuing your injuries

We negotiate the maximum amount of compensation for you and will represent you in court if needed.

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We’ll use our experience and expertise to build the strongest legal case for your claim.

What our customers say:

I can't commend Neil enough. He explained everything to me and made me feel very comfortable every step of the way. His advice, knowledge and responsiveness is first class. A true professional. I am very happy and thankful for the result he and his team have won for me. Everyone at JF who helped with my case showed knowledge and professionalism and I am very grateful for all of their help. If you need a solicitor to get you the result you are after, then please do contact them. Thanks again everyone.

I have dealt with JF over the past two years and found them to be nothing but professional, pro-active and objective. They handled my claim expertly, and despite it being dragged out by a combination of the defendant's tardiness and Covid, brought it to a relatively swift and very satisfactory conclusion. Everyone I dealt with was competent and attentive but I would single Michelle out for particular praise.

Michelle helped me successfully win a case against a petrol garage for damaging my coat and cutting my stomach due to unsafe premises. I came in contact with a sharp bit of metal located on a late night drawer which penetrated my stomach and into my abdominal. At first the third party made me feel irrelevant and failed to even acknowledge it was their fault. However JF took my claim on without a second thought and understood exactly what happened and who was to blame. Michelle guided me through the process and gave me some great advice. my settlement figure was what I had hoped for and was paid very quickly after my claim was accepted by the third party. I would highly recommend!

I have had a great experience with JF. Karen was very supportive throughout, kept me regularly updated and informed at every stage. Karen ensured that everything was understandable for me. Thank you Karen!

Can't thank Bev enough. She has been my case manager after an accident at work. Its taken time to get settlement but this was because employer kept pushing and pushing leading to court cases. Its taken nearly a year to get the settlement but Bev has always kept me updated and has always answered any questions I had in a timely manner. Bev continued to fight for me throughout the whole ordeal. I highly recommend using them as I'm glad did.

Jane at JF was brilliant with my case, she was very understanding and patient and done exactly what she said she was going to do. Always emailing and calling just to give an update on the situation and kept in contact. I would recommend this firm as they have been absolutely fantastic.

I couldn't recommend JFL highly enough. I was involved in a road traffic accident back in September 21 and Chris helped make the whole process stress free and easy to understand. I was kept in loop of what was going on throughout the process. I was put in contact with a medical specialist who really understood my situation. Yes JFL have 25% fee however in my oppinion it was well deserved. Without them i wouldve received no support or advice at all. Thankyou.

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Criminal Injuries Compensation – What Is It?

So, what is criminal injuries compensation and who pays it? In some circumstances, you can claim directly against the person who injured you. For this to be possible, however, they would need to have been identified and would need to have the funds available to pay you compensation themselves.

Criminal injury compensation can also be paid to you by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) if you’ve been the victim of a violent crime. The CICA is an executive agency that receives sponsorship from the Ministry of Justice.

This organisation can award compensation to people who are eligible to claim for injuries they’ve sustained in crimes of violence. If you are aiming to claim through the CICA, there’s no need for the person who committed the crime to have been prosecuted, charged or even identified. However, a report on the incident must have been made to the police in time in order for you to claim.

If you would like to speak to advisors who can provide advice or potentially other support with criminal injuries compensation claims, then please contact Criminal Injuries Compensation Expert online or on the phone. You can contact us through the following methods:

Call us on 0800 073 8805
Get in touch online by using our online contact form

In the next sections of this page, we’ll explain more about different aspects of criminal injury claims. This includes some relevant statistics on crimes reported in England and Wales. We will also clarify different types of criminal injuries that may occur and lead to a potential claim. Further on, we’ve included details of the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA) and the criminal injury compensation tariff which they utilise. We’ll also look at different types of evidence that may exist if you have grounds to make a criminal injury claim. Other sections will cover No Win No Fee solicitors and examples of CICA payouts.

Criminal Injury Statistics

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) collects information on crimes that occur in England and Wales. According to the most recent data that they have produced, there were 1.8 million violent offences. In the year ending December 2021, the rate of violence with injury had increased by 8% compared with the year ending December 2020. The rate of violence without injury had increased by 11% in the same time frame.

Examples Of Criminal Injuries

In order to make a CICA claim, you must have sustained a criminal injury that was the direct result of a crime of violence. You may also be able to claim on behalf of a family member that died as the direct result of a violent crime.

Criminal injuries could include:

Assault. This can include Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) and Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH). These two categories are distinguished by the severity of the harm caused by the assault.
Rape. This is where someone penetrates another person’s mouth, vagina or anus without consent with their penis.
Sexual assault, including historic abuse. Sexual abuse is non-consensual sexual contact. It can include assault by penetration, where someone uses their body part or another object to penetrate someone’s vagina or anus sexually.

Our advisors can advise on how to claim through the CICA if you have been injured as the victim of a violent crime. Get in touch today for free legal advice about claiming as well as an answer to the question, “what is criminal injuries compensation?”.

How To Prove Criminal Injuries Claims

The actions you take following an injury could help strengthen your claim from the criminal injuries compensation fund. Evidence is required to support a claim through the CICA.

Following a criminal act of violence, you should:

Seek medical attention. You might need to submit medical evidence. Furthermore, it’s important for you to get the treatment you need following the incident.
Phone the police. It’s essential in order for you to claim that you report the incident to the police. This should be done as soon as possible, and you’ll have to prove that extenuating circumstances apply if there’s any delay in reporting. Otherwise, this could affect your claim.
Provide a record of special expenses. If your injury has caused you to incur reasonable, necessary costs, then these could be included in your claim. Evidence will be required for this.
Seek legal advice. A lawyer can help the process of claiming run more smoothly.

For free legal advice about the process of claiming, as well as an answer to the question “what is criminal injuries compensation?”, why not speak with one of our advisors today? You could be connected with a lawyer from our panel to work on your claim.

Eligibility for criminal injuries compensation

Having answered the question, ‘what is criminal injuries compensation?’, you might want to know more about the eligibility criteria that applies to making a claim. You must have been a direct victim of a violent crime, seen a loved one be injured as the result of a crime of violence, or witnessed the immediate aftermath of a loved one sustaining a criminal injury.

Other eligibility criteria include:

Cooperation with the police. The CICA will confirm with the police that you cooperated with them in their investigations.
Giving reasonable assistance to CICA or another body to help your application, such as providing documentation when requested.
Conduct and character considerations. If you contributed to your injuries by provoking the assailant you may not be entitled to compensation. In addition, the CICA will check whether you have any unspent convictions, which could result in your payment being reduced or withheld altogether.

Free legal advice is available from our advisors. Contact us today; if you have a valid claim, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee lawyer from our panel.

Criminal Injury Claims – What Are The Time Limits?

There are time limits involved with criminal injury claims. If you don’t begin a claim via the CICA within two years from the date of the incident, you may be ineligible to claim.

However, there are exceptions to the time limit in certain circumstances. For example, in historical abuse claims, you have two years from the date you reported the incident to the police.

If you are able to claim against the perpetrator directly, you typically have three years to begin your claim. This is only possible if their identity is known and they have the funds to compensate you.

Continue reading as we discuss the criminal injuries compensation tariff No Win No Fee Solicitors in the next section.

What Is Criminal Injuries Compensation? – Estimating Payouts

The criminal injuries compensation tariff covers CICA claims. Although these are a set amount, your overall award can be reduced for a number of reasons, such as if you have unspent criminal convictions. Costs you could recover under special expenses are explained below.

How Much Criminal Injuries Compensation Will I Get?

For those seeking examples of CICA payouts, you can view the table below. It contains examples taken from the criminal injuries compensation tariffs. In order to claim, your injury must fit a description found within the CICA tariff table (which can be found on the CICA website). Something to note is that you may still be entitled to claim if you had an injury before you suffered a criminal attack and it was made worse because of that particular crime.

Compensation is only paid out on the first three injuries. All the injuries have to be serious enough to count on their own to receive separate amounts.

Some people making a claim may ask how much the maximum payout for criminal injuries compensation is worth. The answer will depend on what exact injuries you can claim for and which of the injuries you have carries the greatest value in terms of compensation.

With CICA claims, you normally receive 100% of the criminal injuries compensation tariff for the most highly-valued injury. Then 30% of the tariff amount is offered for the second most valuable or an equally valued injury. 15% is offered for the third most valuable injury.

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If the perpetrator can be identified and they have the funds to compensate you, you might be able to make a personal injury claim instead. If this is the case, your injuries will be valued slightly differently. Get in touch with our team of advisors for more information on examples of CICA payouts.

Special Expenses

As part of the question, ‘what is criminal injuries compensation?’, you may be wondering whether you can claim for the financial impact that your injuries have had on you through the CICA.

The part of your settlement that can compensate for reasonable, necessary costs incurred as a result of your injuries is called special expenses. In order to claim special expenses, however, you must show that you lost the ability to go to work and earn money for more than 28 weeks. Special expenses will be awarded from the date of the injury. Lost wages can only be recovered from week 29 as for the first 28 weeks, you can receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).

You could claim special expenses for:

Any physical aids you rely on, such as eye glasses, that were lost or destroyed during the crime.
Home adaptations. This could be both inside and outside the home, such as a stairlift and wheelchair ramp.
Specialist equipment, such as a wheelchair that you are reliant on as a result of the injury.

Speak to our advisors to learn if you could make a No Win No Fee personal injury claim instead. You can also use a No Win No Fee solicitor to make a CICA claim.

Could I Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

You might find the process of claiming compensation easier with a solicitor, whether you are claiming through CICA or seeking compensation in a personal injury claim. A solicitor could help gather evidence. They may also be able to let you know whether your claim needs to be made through the CICA, or whether you could make a personal injury claim directly against your assailant.

A No Win No Fee agreement is an arrangement that helps you fund legal representation, and a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is a popular form of this agreement. This means there are no upfront solicitors fees for you to pay your lawyer before they start work on your claim. A success fee, which is legally capped, will be taken from your award in the event that you receive a settlement. If your claim is not a success, then you don’t need to pay your lawyer for their services.

Ask Us “What Is Criminal Injuries Compensation?”

Before starting a claim you might want to seek legal advice. Free legal advice is available from our team.

Our advisors can answer the question, ‘what is criminal injuries compensation?”. They may also be able to advise you on whether you could bring a personal injury claim against the perpetrator instead. In addition, they could estimate what damages could be paid in a personal injury claim.

Call the number above to be put into contact with our advisors. They could put you in touch with one of our solicitors if your claim seems valid.

More Information – What Is Criminal Injuries Compensation?

The following links could prove helpful:

If you would like to discuss the question “what is criminal injuries compensation?” further, or ask any other related queries, then get in touch with our team today. You are welcome to contact our advisors online or on the phone by using the contact details that are featured within this page.

Writer Danielle Bingham

Publisher Fern Smithers

What Is Criminal Injuries Compensation?

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