Make A Criminal Injury Claim With Specialist Solicitors

By Emily Mochi. Last updated on 5th April 2024. Criminal injury claims can be complex. However, they’re often justified, especially when it comes to the likes of historical sexual abuse or assaults.

The rules surrounding criminal injury are a little different to other areas of law such as personal injury. On this page, we’ll explain the eligibility rules surrounding pursuing compensation and the steps you can take to get started with on criminal injury claims.

If you have any questions regarding how to make criminal injury claims then get in touch. We are here to help. Our advisors can respond to you 24/7. You can:

Call us on 020 3870 4868
Contact us through our website to tell us about your claim online
Use the pop-up chat window in the corner

What Are Criminal Injury Claims?

If you’ve been attacked on the street in a random criminal act, injured during a burglary or mugging, or even worse, been stabbed or subject to sexual or domestic abuse, it’s possible to claim compensation through a government scheme called the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

You do not need to know who attacked you, nor do they need to be charged or even caught. You do however need to present evidence or testimony that proves that, on the balance of probability, the incident did take place as you describe.

It’s also possible to claim compensation for fatal criminal attacks and injuries, such as murder.

The amount awarded to victims of criminal injuries can vary greatly. The CICA statistics for 2020/21 show that some criminal injury claims were only valued at around £1,500. Some more serious injuries were worth in excess of £250,000.

Injuries were not just limited to those of a physical nature. Being the victim of a criminal injury can bring with it certain mental and psychological injuries too. You have a right to be compensated for these as well.

Our panel of solicitors has decades of experience handling CICA claims and they can help you too. Just get in touch to find out more.

Time Limits For Criminal Injury Claims

If you wish to make a claim for compensation due to injuries sustained by assault or other forms of violent crime, you need to be aware of the time restrictions involved. The CICA asks that you report the crime to the police as soon as you can. Preferably, this would be as close as possible to the date that your injuries were sustained.

However, if you can show that exceptional circumstances stopped you from being able to report it to the police right away, then you may still be able to claim. For example, your mental or physical health might have stopped you from being able to report it.

Then, for most claims, you will have 2 years to make a claim. If this window of opportunity expires, then you could find it much more difficult to make a successful claim.

However, this time limit can be extended in exceptional circumstances. You will need to show that you could not make a claim within this time limit in order for your claim to be considered. In addition to this, you’d need to provide additional supporting evidence for your case which means a CICA claims officer will not have to carry out additional extensive investigations.

Ultimately, it is up to the CICA to decide whether the claimant’s explanation for why they didn’t report the crime right away is sufficient.

Criminal Injury Claims Statistics

There are tens of thousands of individuals who have made claims for criminal injury compensation in recent years. The statistics can be found by visiting the government website. The graph below shows claims that were made through the CICA from 2016/17 through to 2020/21. Not all of these claims were successful, as they were found or judged to be invalid.

However, somewhere reviewed and appealed. Eventually, this did lead to some decisions being overturned. Having legal assistance could help you should your initial claim be rejected. An example of a scenario where a claim may not be considered could be if the victim does not report the incident to the police. If you don’t take this step, you won’t receive a case reference number and will be unable to claim compensation.

It’s also difficult to know how long each claim will take, as each one is unique.

From this graph, you can see that there was a notable drop off in cases being processed between 2019/20 and 2020/21. Although, it is unclear as to whether this was a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Criminal injury claims statistics graph

Examples Of CICA Payouts

You could be eligible to make a claim through the CICA if you have suffered harm from a crime of violence and meet the eligibility requirements. In doing so, you could be awarded compensation for your injuries.

The table beneath provides examples of CICA payouts from the tariff of injuries set out in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.

If you sustain numerous injuries, you will only be awarded compensation for three injuries from the CICA tariff. The injuries will be subjected to a formula:

You will receive 100% of the tariff amount for your highest-valued injury.
For your second highest-valued injury, you will receive 30%.
Your third highest-valued injury will entitle you to 15% of the tariff amount.

Additional payments can be made in the event that the crime of violence led to a pregnancy, the loss of a foetus, or a sexually transmitted infection/disease.

Figures from the CICA tariff are below. Alternatively, you could use a CICA claim calculator to give you an idea of how much compensation you could receive, though these may not take special expenses into account.

Edit
Injury	Details	Standard Value
Moderate Brain Damage	A significant dependence on others, personality changes, affect on senses, intellectual deficit and a reduced work ability.	£82,000
Mental Injury	The injury lasts 5 years or more but is not permanent. The injury is disabling and confirmed by a psychiatrist diagnosis.	£13,500
Eye	Serious and permanent blurred vision or double vision.	£13,500
Foot	Fractured tarsal bones in both feet with continuing significant disability.	£13,500
Shoulder	Both shoulders are dislocated and there is a continuing significant disability.	£6,200
Peripheral Sensory Nerve Damage	A permanent disability and serious loss, such as a loss of sensation in the hand.	£6,200
Face	Permanent clicking jaw.	£3,500
Nose	A partial loss of smell, taste, or both.	£3,500
Teeth	There is a loss of two or three front teeth.	£2,400
Wrist	Both wrists are sprained causing a disability for 13 or more weeks.	£1,800

If you are wondering ‘can I seek criminal injuries compensation and how long does it take for a settlement to come through?’, you can get in touch with our team on the number above. They can provide further guidance on this as well as how much compensation you could be awarded when claiming through the CICA.

What Else Could I Claim Through The CICA?

You could also receive a payment for loss of earnings and special expenses. However, there are certain requirements that need to be met in order to receive these as part of your settlement.

To learn more about these, please get in touch with an advisor on the number above.

No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Lawyers

When you work with one of the solicitors on our panel, you have the benefit of their years of experience in handling claims such as these. You may find that their support, guidance and expertise help the process feel less stressful than it otherwise would. They also work with all of their clients on a No Win No Fee basis.

This means that you won’t be obligated to pay them unless are you awarded compensation. If you work with lawyers who do not have a deal such as this in place, then you could still be expected to pay their costs even if your claim is not successful.

When working with the lawyers from our panel, their fee is paid via a small percentage that’s taken from your final settlement amount. There are no additional hidden costs or fees following or preceding this.

So, get in touch with us today if you have any questions regarding your criminal injury claim. We are here to help.

Call us on 020 3870 4868
Contact us through our website to tell us about your claim online
Use the pop-up chat window in the corner

Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims