This article will explain how criminal injury solicitors can guide you through making a criminal injury claim. We will discuss the assistance they could provide and how they may be able to offer their services in a way that means you don’t have to pay upfront fees or ongoing charges.

Later, we include information that could be important to know if you are considering making a claim for criminal injury compensation. For instance, we’ll discuss the eligibility requirements when claiming through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), which is an executive agency that provides compensation to the victims of violent crime. We will also provide information about how these compensation payouts are calculated.

Read on to learn more. Alternatively, you can speak to our advisers if you have questions you’d like to ask right away. Our team has experience discussing various aspects of the claiming process. What’s more, they are available 24/7, so your free consultation can take place whenever is most convenient. For more information:

• Call 020 8050 2736
• Fill in our contact us form
• Speak to an adviser in the chatbox below

Choose A Section

1. A Guide To Using Criminal Injury Solicitors
2. When Are You Eligible To Make Claims Through The CICA?
3. Why Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors?
4. What Do You Need To Seek Criminal Injuries Compensation?
5. What Compensation Could Be Received From A Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim?
6. Learn More About Claiming Criminal Injuries Compensation

A Guide To Using Criminal Injury Solicitors

If you’re thinking about claiming violent crime compensation, it may be worth considering how much a lawyer could bring to the process. For instance, criminal injury solicitors can help you by:

• Helping you collect evidence
• Arranging a medical assessment
• Collecting and organising financial evidence to help support your claim
• Corresponding with the CICA regarding the claim
• Providing an accurate estimate of potential criminal injuries compensation

Additionally, a solicitor that specialises in criminal injury law will have a great deal of knowledge and experience to draw upon. This could be useful to you if you find the process of claiming to be daunting.

In the next section, we will discuss the avenues available to those making a criminal injuries compensation claim. Contact our advisers if you’d like to know more about the benefits of hiring criminal injury solicitors.

When Are You Eligible To Make Claims Through The CICA?

There are three main avenues through which you can claim assault compensation. Criminal injury solicitors can help you understand which avenue your circumstances make you eligible to use.

First, you may be able to claim against the perpetrator directly. However, this is only possible when you know their identity and they have the funds to pay you compensation.

Second, you may be able to claim against a vicariously liable organisation. You can do this when an institution breached the duty of care they owe you, leading to a criminal injury from which you were psychologically or physically harmed. Institutional abuse claims could be one example of this.

Third, if you are not eligible to use either of the methods above, you can direct your claim through the CICA. It is this method we will discuss further throughout this guide.

To begin a claim through the CICA, you must meet certain compensation eligibility requirements. For instance, you have to show:

• The incident occurred in England, Scotland, Wales, or another relevant incident location.
• You reported the incident to the police as soon as possible.
• The incident meets the CICA’s definition of a crime of violence, which includes physical and sexual assault.

One of the services that criminal injury solicitors can provide is to help you understand these eligibility requirements. Speak to our advisers if you have any questions about this aspect of claiming.

Is There A Time Limit To Seek Compensation Through The CICA?

When claiming through the CICA, you must generally begin your claim within 2 years of reporting the incident to the police. Again, this must have been done as soon as possible, though extenuating circumstances may have affected when this could be done. If this is the case, then the claim could still be considered.

Contact our advisers if you have questions about how long you have to claim criminal injury compensation. They can answer questions and tell you about the services offered by our panel of criminal injury solicitors.

Why Use Our Panel of No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors?

Though you aren’t required to have legal representation to begin a claim for violent crime compensation, it could benefit your case to get this kind of help. Criminal injuries solicitors can bring years of experience to the process.

Additionally, the solicitors on our panel may be able to offer you a specific kind of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that you typically don’t have to pay for the solicitor’s services if your claim fails.

Instead of charging ongoing or upfront fees for their services, criminal injury solicitors using a CFA will take a success fee at the end of the claim if it succeeds. This fee is capped legally, ensuring you receive most of the settlement you’re awarded.

What Do You Need To Seek Criminal Injuries Compensation?

You may have to produce certain pieces of evidence in order to seek compensation through the CICA. For example, you will have to provide:

• Evidence showing you fit the CICA’s residency criteria.
• A police reference number.
• Medical evidence regarding your injuries.
• Financial evidence about special expenses, which we will discuss in the next section.

If you are considering making a claim, speak to our advisers. They can answer your questions about evidence the CICA may ask to see. Additionally, they may be able to put your claim in front of one of the criminal injury solicitors on our panel.

What Compensation Could Be Received From A Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim?

A payout for criminal injuries compensation could take into account two aspects of the harm you experienced. First, in a successful claim you will be compensated for the physical and psychological harm you experienced.

This head of claim is calculated using the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. You can claim for up to 3 injuries from the main tariff of injuries, which would be subject to the multiple injuries formula. The multiple injuries formula will award:

• 100% of the highest-valued entry
• 30% of the second or equally highest-valued entry
• 15% of the third or equally highest-valued entry

Certain other effects can be found on a separate tariff, which is not subject to this formula. They could include becoming pregnant or contracting a sexually transmitted infection due to the assault.

Criminal Harm Or Injury	CICA Tariff	Further Notes
Penile Penetration of Mouth/Anus/Vagina, Non-Consensual (Any Age)	£44,000	Causes severe internal injuries and severe psychological harm.
Penile Penetration of Mouth/Anus/Vagina, Non-Consensual (Any Age)	£27,000	Causes permanent, moderate psychological harm.
Penile Penetration of Mouth/Anus/Vagina, Non-Consensual (Any Age)	£22,000	Causes permanent, moderate psychological harm.
Sexual Assault (Any Age)	£22,000	Sexual assault that causes severe internal injuries.
Physical Abuse (Children)	£13,500	Persistent pattern of physical abuse that causes severe multiple injuries.
Humerus	£11,000	Fractured bones in both arms that result in continuing, significant disability.
Elbow	£6,200	Dislocation or fracture of both elbows from which there is substantial recovery.
Skull	£3,500	Fracture requiring surgery.
Teeth	£3,500	Loss of four or more front teeth.
Jaw	£1,500	Fractured jawbone that does not require an operation and from which there is a substantial recovery.

Additionally, you can check our criminal injury compensation calculator and contact our advisers for guidance about the figures returned by an assault claim calculator.

Can You Claim For Special Expenses?

You could also receive a payment for special expenses. For example, you could be compensated for:

• Physical aids, such as spectacles, that were damaged in the incident
• The cost of getting treatment, either from the NHS or private healthcare if the NHS would charge the same amount
• Special equipment required after the incident, such as adaptations made to your car

These expenses must be necessary, reasonable and unavailable for free elsewhere. Additionally, you may be able to claim for earnings you lost due to the criminal injury. If you’d like to know more about the financial losses you may be able to claim, contact our team of advisers.

Want To Know If You Can Claim Compensation Through The CICA? Contact Us For Free Today

If you still have questions about making a claim through the CICA, our advisers can help. The team is available 24/7 and can provide free information about various aspects of your potential claim. Additionally, they may be able to pass your claim on to one of the criminal injury solicitors on our panel. For more information:

• Call 020 8050 2736
• Fill in our contact us form
• Speak to an adviser in the chatbox below

Learn More About Claiming Criminal Injuries Compensation

Related guides that could help:

Advice For Starting A Historical Sexual Abuse Compensation Claim

What Is The Average Payout For An Assault At Work?

The Steps Involved When Claiming Compensation For GBH

Third-party resources:

National Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Children (NSPCC) – Organisation dedicated to keeping children safe

Victim Support – Charity that makes itself available to any individual affected by crime

Offences Against The Person – Information from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) with legal guidance regarding violent crime

Thank you for reading the information we’ve provided about criminal injury solicitors. If you want to know more, contact us with the details we’ve provided above.

Writer Morgan Fox

Publisher Fern Shelley