Claiming Criminal Injuries Compensation Through The CICA

Being in a violent crime can be extremely debilitating and can affect your daily life; no one should have to go through it. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to have been physically or mentally harmed by a crime of violence, we could possibly help you make a criminal injuries compensation claim today. 

There are 3 different ways to make a claim for a violent crime:

• Against the perpetrator directly if they can be identified and have the funds to compensate you. 
• Against a vicariously liable party, such as an organisation like a school, who failed their legal obligation to ensure your health and safety.
• Through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (the CICA), which we will delve into more detail in this guide. 

Regardless of how you make your claim, we want to help you get the compensation you deserve. Our panel of solicitors have helped thousands of claimants win criminal injuries compensation using their years of expertise. Please get in touch with us today to find out whether you’re eligible to connect with our panel:

• Call for free on 0333 000 0729
• Fill out our ‘contact us’ page. 
• Send a message to an advisor in our office using our on-screen live chat box.

Jump To A Section

1. What Is The CICA?
2. Am I Eligible To Make A Criminal Injury Claim?
3. What Counts As A Criminal Injury?
4. How Much Compensation You Can Claim For Criminal Injury
5. The Evidence You’ll Need To Support Your Claim
6. How Long Do You Have To Claim Criminal Injuries Compensation?
7. How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help You Claim
8. More Information

What Is The CICA?

The CICA (the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) is a government agency in Great Britain that compensates victims of violent crime who have been either physically or mentally injured.

The CICA was created so that people who cannot claim against the perpetrator directly or a vicariously liable party can still receive criminal injuries compensation for their suffering.

To see whether you may have a valid claim after suffering a criminal injury, you can continue reading this guide. You can also contact our advisors to discuss your case.

Am I Eligible To Make A Criminal Injury Claim?

To make a criminal injury claim through the CICA, you must meet these certain criteria:

1. You have suffered an injury from a violent crime. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (The Scheme) defines a violent crime as: an attack/assault, an act of violent nature that causes harm, arson, sexual assault, or a threat of attack where the person is in “reasonable firmness” to be fearful. 
2. The violent crime took place in Great Britain, or another relevant place (such as on a boat that’s registered to Great Britain).
3. You reported the violent crime to the police. 
4. You are within the criminal injury claim time limit (we discuss this later).

It’s important to note when making a claim through the CICA that the perpetrator doesn’t need to have been prosecuted or caught. 

Alternatively, if you’re making a criminal injury claim against the perpetrator directly or against a vicariously liable party, the eligibility criteria are different. To learn what these criteria are or for more information on how to claim through the CICA, you can contact our advisors.

What Counts As A Criminal Injury?

A criminal injury is any type of physical or psychological injury that was a result of a violent crime. 

Examples of criminal injuries include:

• Broken bones.
• Bruises, cuts, lacerations, and subsequent scars. 
• Injuries to genitalia.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and other psychological conditions.

If you’re eligible to make a CICA claim, you could claim compensation for more than one injury. Contact us today to discuss the validity of your claim.

How Much Compensation You Can Claim For A Criminal Injury

If you’re claiming criminal injuries compensation through the CICA, your criminal injuries will be valued in line with the tariffs found in The Scheme. These tariffs are fixed, meaning that if your criminal injury claim is successful, you’ll receive the set amount listed in this Scheme that correlates to your specific injury.

If you’ve suffered multiple criminal injuries, you can claim for up to 3 of them under the multiple injuries formula, which is:

• 100% of the tariff amount for the highest-valued injury. 
• 30% of the tariff amount for the 2nd highest-valued injury.
• 15% of the tariff amount for the 3rd highest-valued injury. 

However, if you’ve become pregnant, contracted an STI (Sexually-Transmitted Infection), or lost a foetus as a result of a violent crime, then you can be awarded compensation that’s not subject to the multiple injuries formula. 

In the table below, we have provided a few of these tariffs from the Scheme (except for the top figure, which isn’t from the Scheme)

Alternatively, if you are making a criminal injury claim not through the CICA and against the perpetrator or a party who is vicariously liable instead, the compensation will be different as it’ll be valued in another way. Please contact us for more information on this.

Special Expenses

Additionally, you can also claim compensation through the CICA for different costs you have incurred as a result of your criminal injuries. These costs are called ‘special expenses’ and can include costs for:

• Equipment that you relied on as physical aid that was damaged from the violent crime, such as a hearing aid or glasses.
• Care you need regarding food preparation or your bodily functions. 
• Adapting your home to accommodate your criminal injury, such as adding a stairlift. 
• Equipment you need to accommodate your criminal injury, such as a specially adapted car. 
• Supervision to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others. 
• Loss of earnings if you need time off work to recover from your criminal injury. But, specific criteria need to be met to claim for this.

However, in order to claim criminal injuries compensation for any of these associated costs, they need to be reasonable and necessary. They also can’t be claimed for free anywhere else.

If you have any questions regarding how much criminal injuries compensation you could receive, please contact our advisors.

The Evidence You’ll Need To Support Your Claim 

When making a criminal injuries compensation claim through the CICA, you’ll need to provide the following evidence:

• A police reference number from when you reported the violent crime.
• Proof that you meet the residency requirements. 
• Copies of your medical records, and other medical evidence, to prove what criminal injuries you’ve suffered. 

The CICA can also liaise with the police if they need any additional information regarding the violent crime and your claim. 

If you are making a criminal injury claim not through the CICA and against the perpetrator or a party who is vicariously liable instead, it may be handy to also collect these types of evidence:

• CCTV footage of the violent crime taking place. 
• Witness contact details. 
• Photographs of your criminal injuries. 
• A personal diary where you’ve recorded your physical and mental symptoms. 

If you need help collecting your evidence, please contact us today. A solicitor from our panel can help you if you’re connected with one. 

How Long Do You Have To Claim Criminal Injuries Compensation?

When making a criminal injuries compensation claim through the CICA, there is a general time limit of 2 years. This means that you have 2 years starting from the date the violent crime took place to begin a CICA claim. However, if you can prove that exceptional circumstances stopped you from making a claim within these 2 years, the time limit could potentially be extended. 

Additionally, here is how the time limit changes if someone under the age of 18 has suffered criminal injuries:

• If the violent crime was reported to the police, minors have 2 years starting from their 18th birthday to make a claim, unless exceptional circumstances apply. 
• If the violent crime was not reported to the police, minors have 2 years starting from the date the crime is reported to the police to make a claim. There also needs to be proof that exceptional circumstances stopped a police report being made sooner, such as cases of historical abuse. 

However, if you are making a criminal injury claim not through the CICA and against the perpetrator or a party that is vicariously liable instead, there is a general time limit of 3 years. This means you have 3 years starting from the date the violent crime took place to begin a criminal injury claim. Exceptions also apply to this time limit though, so please contact us for more information on this.

How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help You Claim

You can contact us at any time to find out for free whether you have a valid claim. If you are eligible for criminal injuries compensation, a specialist solicitor can connect with you on a No Win No Fee basis to help you make your claim. 

Connecting with a solicitor from our panel can make the criminal injury claims process a lot less stressful and more manageable, especially if you’ve never claimed compensation before. While you focus on rehabilitating from your criminal injuries, they will do the following on your behalf to help you:

• Collect the required evidence. 
• Send correspondence. 
• Keep you regularly updated on any progress with the case. 

Remember, our panel provide their services on a No Win No Fee basis (through a Conditional Fee Agreement in particular), which means there are no fees for their work at all:

• Upfront. 
• While the case is still ongoing. 
• If the case is unsuccessful. 

So, you only have to pay for your solicitor’s work if the case is successful. Even in this case, you’re not paying directly from your pocket. Instead, your solicitor keeps a small percentage of your compensation that’s taken out before it’s awarded to you. This percentage has a maximum cap by law, meaning that no matter what, you will receive the majority of the criminal injuries compensation.

Contact Us Today

If you’ve been injured in a violent crime, we understand that no amount of compensation can undo what you’ve been through. However, we will work our hardest to compensate you for your suffering. Our panel of solicitors are legal experts who have years of experience winning similar claims. So, please don’t hesitate to have a free chat with us today about your circumstances:

• Call for free on 0333 000 0729.
• Fill out our ‘contact us’ page. 
• Send a message to an advisor in our office using our on-screen live chat box.

More Information

Browse a few of our other criminal injury claims guides below:

• How to make a claim for patient abuse in a hospital.
• How to make a claim if someone you know has been a victim of murder.
• Find out whether you can claim for domestic abuse.

Additionally, you might find useful information on these pages:

• Gov.UK – Information on accessing services for victim support after a violent crime.
• NHS – know when to call 111.
• Gov.UK – the new address for the CICA office, which is:

10 Clyde Place

Buchanan Wharf

Glasgow

G5 8AQ

Thank you for reading our criminal injuries compensation claims guide. If you’re struggling and need advice on what to do next after suffering a violent crime, we can help you.