This guide contains information about institutional abuse claims. We will provide guidance on the process of making a criminal injury claim. This includes the time limit that applies, an explanation of the evidence you may have to provide, and how compensation settlements are valued.

We will also provide information about the channels that could be available to those pursuing compensation for criminal injuries. Furthermore, we explain how a No Win No Fee agreement could allow you to access the services of a solicitor with no upfront fees and the benefit that legal representation can offer.

Read on for more information about these topics and more. We’ve also provided contact details if you would like to speak to one of our advisers about your potential claim. Our team can listen carefully before offering advice about how best to proceed. Speak to an adviser by:

• Using our contact form to request more information
• Calling us at 020 8050 2736 to talk to our team
• Getting live advice using the chat box below

Choose A Section

1. Institutional Abuse Claims – A Guide To Seeking Compensation
2. How Could You Make Institutional Abuse Claims?
3. What Historical Abuse Compensation Could You Receive?
4. Potential Evidence In Institutional Abuse Claims
5. Can You Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
6. Learn More About CICA Claims

Institutional Abuse Claims – A Guide To Seeking Compensation

Institutional abuse is where an individual, or a group of individuals, are abused systematically because of the failings of an organisation. Institutions could include organisations like:

• Religious institutions
• Schools
• Care homes
• Foster homes or group homes

Institutional abuse involves the mistreatment of individuals who rely on these systems for support. It could involve physical and sexual abuse.

In the next section, this guide will explore three avenues available to claim criminal injuries compensation. Our advisers can offer advice about the compensation that could be awarded in successful institutional abuse claims.

How Could You Make Institutional Abuse Claims?

Below, we have included examples of some of the channels through which institutional abuse claims could be made:

1. Claiming against the individual or individuals responsible for your injuries. This can be done when you know the identities of those involved, and they have the finances to pay the costs associated with a criminal injury claim.
2. Claiming against a vicariously liable organisation. This can be done when a third party has breached the duty of care they owed you, such as by failing to train staff to an adequate degree or ignoring reports that are made about abuse.
3. Claiming through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). This is an executive agency of the UK government established as a way to provide compensation to the victims of violent crime. This is a method of last resort and can be pursued when no other options are available to you. You could make a claim for institutional abuse through the CICA if the institution responsible has since closed down, for example.

Evidence is a crucial element of criminal injury claims. In later sections, we will discuss the evidence you may have to show to claim compensation. In the meantime, our advisers can answer any further questions about institutional abuse claims and seeking compensation for sexual abuse as a child.

When Am I Eligible To Claim?

When claiming against a ‘vicariously liable’ organisation, you are eligible to claim when you can show the following:

• A third party owed you a duty of care
• This duty of care was breached
• As a result of this breach, you sustained harm in the form of a physical or psychological injury

However, the requirements for making a claim through the CICA are different. They are outlined below:

• The incident must have occurred in England, Scotland, Wales or another relevant place
• The incident fit the CICA’s definition of a crime of violence
• The crime must have been reported to the police as promptly as possible

Contact our advisers if you have questions about the eligibility requirements for either method of claiming. They can offer free legal advice about your present circumstances.

What Historical Abuse Compensation Could You Receive?

Compensation for institutional abuse claims may differ depending on what channel you use to claim. When claiming against an organisation that breached the duty of care they owed you, a solicitor will generally refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them assess how much could be awarded in general damages for your injuries.

This is a document that contains compensation brackets for different injuries. We have provided some of these entries in the table below.

Injury	JCG Award Brackets	Details
Severe Sexual Abuse	£45,000 to £120,000	Serious abuse and/or severe and prolonged psychiatric injury. Severe effect on ability to work and maintain personal and sexual relationships.
Moderate Sexual Abuse	£20,570 to £45,000	Less serious abuse or cases where the psychiatric injury is less severe. Fewer effects on various aspects of life.
Less Severe Abuse	£9,730 to £20,570	Short-lived psychological reactions that are mild or resolved quickly. Few if any aggravating features.
Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£59,860 to £100,670	All aspects of life badly affected. Permanent effects that prevent the individual from functioning at pre-trauma levels.
Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£23,150 to £59,860	Effects that cause significant disability for the foreseeable future, though there is a better overall prognosis.

Please remember these figures are intended only as a guide. Your actual settlement could differ because two claims could involve very different circumstances.

You may also be able to claim for certain financial losses incurred due to your injuries. This head of a claim is called special damages and could help you recoup:

• Lost earnings, past and future
• Travel costs; for example, when getting to and from hospital appointments
• The cost of medical care. For example, you may require counselling that is not covered by the NHS.

Contact our advisers if you have more questions about the damages that could be awarded in a successful claim against a vicariously liable third party.

What Could I Recieve If I Claim Through The CICA?

When claiming through the CICA, the award for your injuries will be paid out in line with the CICA tariff of injuries. This is outlined in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. You can learn more about the CICA’s awards by using our criminal injury claim calculator or by checking the table below.

Injury	CICA Awards	Details
Sexual Assault	£27,000	One or more non-penile penetrative or oral genital acts that result in a severe and permanent disabling mental illness.
Sexual Assault	£22,000	One or more non-penile penetrative or oral genital acts that result in a moderate and permanent disabling mental illness.
Non-Consensual Penetration (Penile) of Mouth, Anus, or Vagina	£22,000	Repeated incidents for 3 years or more.
Non-Consensual Penetration (Penile) of Mouth, Anus, or Vagina	£13,500	Involves two or more attackers.
Infection	£11,000	Sexually transmitted infections other than HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. Not subject to multiple injuries formula.

You can claim for up to three injuries from this tariff, and these are subject to a multiple injury formula. This means you would receive 100% of the tariff amount for the injury with the highest value, 30% of the second-highest valued injury, and 15% of the third-highest valued tariff. Certain injuries, such as contracting a sexually transmitted infection, are awarded from a different tariff and so are not subject to this formula.

Special Expenses and Loss of Earnings

Additionally, you could receive other heads of claim to reimburse you for certain financial losses incurred due to your injuries. To claim for them, you must have lost earnings, the capacity to earn, or been incapacitated to a similar extent for more than 28 full weeks. At week 29, you may be able to claim for lost earnings and special expenses, which could include:

• Treatment costs for the NHS or a third-party healthcare provider if the NHS would have charged the same amount
• Special equipment you may need after the incident
• Care costs associated with various factors, such as preventing you from harming yourself or others

These expenses must be necessary, reasonable, and unavailable for free elsewhere. The reimbursement for special expenses will be backdated to the time of the incident.

You may also be able to claim for lost earnings. If you were completely unable to undertake paid work or had a very limited capacity to do so for more than 28 full weeks, you may be able to claim these from week 29 and onwards. Contact our advisers to discuss institutional abuse claims more fully. There are more requirements for claiming compensation for lost earnings, and our team can discuss them with you as they relate to your circumstances.

Potential Evidence In Institutional Abuse Claims

The evidence you may need for a claim differs depending upon which avenue you are claiming through. For example, when claiming against a vicariously liable organisation, it could help your claim to produce evidence such as:

• Contact details for anyone who witnessed the incidents
• A medical report relating to how you were affected, which could include physical injuries, like a broken jaw, or psychological ones, such as post-traumatic stress disorder
• Any reports that were made to the institution in relation to the abuse, if relevant

The evidence you may have to produce for the CICA is different. To support your claim, they could request:

• Documentation to show you meet the CICA residency requirements
• Medical evidence about the injuries you sustained
• Evidence in support of any special expenses you may have incurred
• A police reference number to show that the crime was reported

Speak to our advisers if you have concerns about the evidence you may be asked to provide. Our advisers can help you check your criminal injuries compensation eligibility and may be able to offer you guidance on factors like how long you have to claim criminal injury compensation.

Can You Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?

No matter which method of claiming is relevant to your circumstances, you may benefit from the help of a solicitor. The help of a solicitor could make navigating the criminal injury claims process much easier.

The solicitors on our panel may offer you a type of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This agreement stipulates that you usually do not have to pay for your solicitor’s services if your claim fails or pay them anything upfront to get it started.

Instead, your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation at the end of the process if your claim is successful. This amount is subject to a legal cap.

Contact Us 24/7 For Free To See If You Could Receive Historical Abuse Compensation

If you have questions about institutional abuse claims and are wondering if your own circumstances qualify you to begin a claim, call our advisers. The team is available 24/7, and the consultation is free, with no obligation to continue afterwards. Reach us by:

• Using our contact form to request more information
• Calling us at 020 8050 2736 to talk to our team
• Getting live advice using the chatbox below

Learn More About CICA Claims

Other guides that may be of help:

Can You Claim Compensation For Domestic Abuse?

Sexual Assault Claims – How To Get Compensation

Claiming For Broken Nose Assault Compensation

Further resources that may be helpful:

Childline – A helpline for children who may want to talk about serious or difficult topics

National Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) – Charity to protect children from abuse

Rape Crisis – Charity working to end sexual violence

We hope this guide has provided useful information about making institutional abuse claims. Contact us today if you have questions about the avenue you may be able to take to receive compensation.

Writer Morgan Fox

Publisher Fern Shelley