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| Victims of Crime |
>> The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will only pay compensation to victims of crime, and only when that victim has been either physically or mentally injured as a result of that crime and even then only within Scotland, England or Wales. A common misconception being that the C.I.C.A. will pay you money if you are a British Citizen who is a victim of crime abroad.
>> Unlike most injury claims where both sides argue over how much an injury is "worth", as a government appointed, public funded organisation the Criminal Injury Board sets the rules and is pretty black and white. Your ailments must be of a certain severity to qualify for compensating as they only have 25 levels of criminal compensation for which they pay out from £1,000 to £250,000. The maximum amount you can receive in criminal injury compensation after all losses and expenses have been considered is £500,000. There are some simple guidelines to judge whether you have a possible UK criminal injury claim that qualifies for an award from the criminal injuries compensation scheme. To make a claim for criminal injury compensation you MUST have:
- been assaulted or injured in some way covered by the scheme and physically and/or mentally injured as a result
- been in England, Scotland or Wales at the time when the injury was sustained
- been injured seriously enough to qualify for at least the minimum award available under the Scheme
- received documented medical attention for your injuries
- been a dependant or relative of someone who died as a result of a crime
- reported the incident to the police within 48 hours
- forwarded your application within 2 years from the date of the incident
There are sometimes good reasons for the above not occurring and criminal compensation can sometimes be recovered even if you cannot affirm all of the above requirements. As stated, criminal injury compensation can also be claimed for mental anguish as long as that mental anguish is severe enough to qualify for the lowest UK CICA award amount of £1,000. Mental anguish generally has to be substantiated and documented for it to be classed as being something that requires compensation, it helps if there is recognised trauma that occurs from your type of victimisation such as being raped. Rape victims are accepted to have both physical and mental injuries due to the extensive research done in that area and the already existing supporting evidence. If you have any doubts or questions prior to claiming then you can get free advice from your local citizen's advice bureau.
>> When you apply for compensation you will be assigned a case worker and they are not easily fooled. Where you might be able to throw a frivilous claim against and insurance company who would rather settle quickly than drag things out the CICA in the UK does not have a mandate that produces such results. For example, since the London Bombings we have received hundreds of inquiries from people wanting to know "how much they could get" as they were now "scared to get on a train or bus". If you think logically, there have been dozens of train and bus crashes over the years killing many, many more people and yet no-one was seeking compensation for being scared then.
>> As for finding a firm to handle your case, many of the big companies promising large cheques that advertise on TV will not handle criminal injury cases because the phrase "100% of your compensation" rarely applies to criminal cases. A firm may still offer the no win, no fee arrangement but if your case is actually successfully won the solicitor will take a cut. You will agree how much at the start of the case and it can range from 10% to 30% of your final compensation. You can handle your case yourself and if it is quite a small claim then normally this is advisable, remember, as the Criminal Injury Scheme is not a profit making company they have no vested interest in trying to give you as little money as possible - they have been set up to aid victims of assault or other violent crimes. However, if the details of your case are a little shaky or the injuries difficult to explain or quantify then it may be in your best interests to hire someone to help you. In many cases the amount the solicitor will take from the final compensation will be much less than the extra they manage to obtain for you. In all instances we recommend speaking to an ethical legal practice that has experience in criminal injury law and claiming to get their opinion, we have found that many will be happy to advise you on the best route and if they feel it is in your best interests to pursue the compensation yourself they will say so.
Disclaimer: Although this site is updated as often as possible the information provided may not accurately reflect the current laws, procedures and/or facilities available to you. To ensure that you get the most up to date information make sure you consult an actual solicitor before pursuing any action. The articles on this site are for informational purposes only and are not intended to advise any particular action or inaction. Please read our terms of use for more information.
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