CRIMINAL INJURY CLAIM SETTLEMENTS ADVICE

Were you mugged on your way home from work? Attacked by a robber in the middle of the night? Assaulted in the pub or on the way home from a night club? If you’ve been victimised by criminal violence, you can approach the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and make a criminal injury claim. This organisation can help you get proper remuneration for the injuries you may have sustained during the attack.

In order to qualify for compensation you must submit your criminal injury claim to the CICA within two years of the violent incident that caused your injuries. In addition the injury must have happened in Great Britain and must be severe enough to have needed at least 6 weeks of treatment and recovery and required at least 2 consultations with a medical practitioner.

You should go to the police as soon as you escape from your attacker. There should be no delay in order to succeed in a criminal injury claim. You must co-operate with the authorities and you may be asked to act as a witness in any court hearings or at least provide any information that can help them in apprehending the attacker. The CICA can opt to lower the compensation you receive or withhold it altogether, if they discover that you have not fully cooperated with the authorities.

The CICA will take into consideration your own character (including any previous unspent criminal convictions) and your own behaviour before, during and after the attack. Convictions finalised after the attack but before the CICA award compensation will be considered. A criminal injury claim may be reduced or totally extinguished if the applicants character doesn’t justify the payment of compensation from public funds.

The amount of money awarded in a criminal injury claim has a ceiling of £250,000 for injury and £250,000 for other losses. The value of the personal injury award is calculated using a tariff scheme whereby each different type of injury is assigned a value or tariff with a minimum award of £1,000. If the injury doesn’t justify the minimum award then no award will be made. If there is more than one injury then the tariff is awarded for the main injury with further sums for the next two injuries based on the tariff but discounted by a percentage before all figures are aggregated to reach the amount of the final award.

It is possible to appeal the decision of the CICA at several steps along the way with particular notice being taken of the amount of the final award or in regards to a rejection of the application. In these cases the matter is reconsidered by a higher grade member of CICA staff then the clerical officer dealing with the application at first instance. If the award is finalised and is inadequate it is thereafter possible to appeal to the CICA Appeals Panel which is an independent body.

Our personal injury specialists deal with CICA claims using the no win no fee scheme. We only charge legal costs if you successfully recover damages for you. Our charges are on a pre-agreed percentage basis. If we fail to win you compensation we make no charge whatsoever. Our claims are completely risk free.