Criminal Injury Compensation Claims

Criminal injury is a term often used to refer to a situation where a person has been subjected to some form of physical or psychological harm. Examples include:

• Serious physical assault
• Hit-and-run cases
• Stabbing incidents causing serious injury or significant scarring
• Brain injury because of assault, abuse or any other violent crime
• Bereavement because of a violent crime.

The CICA is a government-funded compensation scheme for people who are innocent victims of criminal violence in the UK.

The application process can be complicated, particularly if you or a loved one has sustained a serious injury, so it helps to have representation from experts experienced in the ins and outs of the scheme.

We have also found that the CICA sometimes awards settlements that are too low for the full extent of injury and trauma sustained in a criminal attack or assault.

We have a proven record of successful appeals to the scheme, securing more compensation than originally offered, whether we have been involved from the beginning of a claim or not.

To be eligible for compensation through the CICA scheme, the crime must be a crime of violence, which includes physical attacks, sexual assault, threats causing fear of immediate violence or acts/omissions causing physical injury.

Beyond the nature of the crime, there are also general eligibility criteria for applicants:

• The crime must have been reported to the police as soon as possible
• There's generally a two-year time limit from the date of the incident to make a claim, although there are exceptions
• The applicant's behaviour before, during and after the incident, their criminal record and their cooperation with authorities can impact the claim's outcome.

To start your claim for criminal injury compensation, you’ll need to contact our team. We will arrange a free initial consultation to learn more about what’s happened to you. We will also discuss whether you can claim through the CICA, which begins with an online application. After that, your claim will follow the same basic steps:

1. Investigation: The CICA investigates your claim and makes checks to decide whether you’re eligible for compensation. If the CICA decides you’re not eligible, we can appeal that and have many years of experience in successfully overturning eligibility decisions.
   
   
2. Compensation: If the compensation amount offered by the CICA is too low, then we can appeal the amount.
   
   
3. Conclusion: If our original application to the CICA (or your appeal) is successful, you will be awarded compensation. If we agree to handle your claim under a no win no fee arrangement, then you won't have to pay anything if your claim is unsuccessful.

Yes, you can but it’s not always straightforward, which is why we encourage you to contact our team of experts to find out more.

If your injuries were directly caused by an assault, then your application for compensation will be accepted.

If your injuries were sustained while arresting a suspect, your application will likely be rejected. This is because dealing with a person resisting arrest is part of your duties. Get in touch to find out if you have a case—our experts will be more than happy to help.