If you have been violently assaulted and have suffered a personal injury you may be able to make a criminal injury claim for compensation to the CICA. The UK government set up the CICA to pay compensation to the innocent victims of violent assault. Awards of compensation are determined on a sliding scale that forms the basis of a tariff scheme and compensation is determined by civil servants in the employ of the CICA subject to certain rights of appeal initially internally to a more senior CICA officer and thereafter to what is effectively an independent tribunal. There are limits on the amount that can be awarded which currently stand at £250,000 for personal injury and a similar amount for certain associated losses.
The amount of the award in a criminal injury claim is determined by considering the main injury and comparing it with similar injuries in a tariff guide which can be obtained from the CICA. The guide is divided into different categories ranging from minor injuries’ valued at £1,000 which is the minimum amount of an award ranging up to £250,000 which is the maximum amount of an award. Thereafter any other less severe injuries are also considered and a predetermined discount is applied to the ‘value’ of these lesser injuries before all of the figures are added together to determine a final award for the injury. Any financial losses are then considered as a separate calculation before both figures are aggregated and a final award is made.
The CICA imposes certain requirements in order to qualify for a criminal injury claim as follows :-
- any injuries must have taken more than 6 weeks to heal
- the claimant must have sought medical treatment on at least two occasions
- an application must usually have been submitted within two years of the incident
- unspent convictions of the applicant are considered
- there must be no delay in reporting the assault to the authorities
- there must be full co-operation with the police or other relevant authority
- no conviction against the assailant is necessary
- the victims behaviour before, during and after the incident is considered
- there is a right to reconsideration and subsequent appeal of any proposed award
Umbrella Claims is a specialist organisation that deals exclusively with personal injury compensation claims on a No Win No Fee basis. If we fail to obtain compensation on your behalf we will not charge you anything at all. Our claims are totally risk free. The CICA does not pay legal costs and should we be successful in claiming damages on your behalf we will charge you a pre-arranged percentage of the amount of the award as a legal fee. If we appeal your case to the independent appeals body we will make no further charge to you. We will minimalise any inconvenience to you and we offer free advice without obligation from some of the best lawyers in the business. We ensure that our client’s interests are a priority and our lawyers deal with claims in a friendly, efficient and competent manner to ensure that you get the compensation that you deserve in the shortest time scale possible.