Criminal Injury Claims

If you are interested in criminal injury compensation, we recommend that you consult our personal injury lawyers in London and discover the legal services offered in this situation. Criminal injury can involve violence, loss of earnings, or other problems of this kind, in which you were the victim. You are entitled to compensation, and the minimum, in this case, is GBP 1,000. In the following lines, you can discover information about the CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) claim and how you should proceed.

Quick Facts
Types of criminal injury claims	– violent acts without a will, – injuries after a criminal act that left persons without the possibility of continuing their daily activities etc.
Cases in which you can claim compensation	– physical or mental injuries, – physical or sexual abuse, – violence cases, – crimes, etc.
Evidence and documents solicited	– video and photo evidence, – police reports, – medical documents
Time limits for application	No later than two years from the date of the respective incident
Representation for minors involved in criminal injuries claim (YES/NO)	Yes
Accident location eligibility	Criminal injuries from England, Wales, and Scotland are considered.
We use CICA compensation calculator	With the help of the information and evidence provided, you can use the CICA compensation calculator to get an idea of the amount you can receive.
Claims for mental injury	Available for witnesses in a case of an incident involving violence, a close relative or a family friend
Special expenses considered in a criminal injury claim	Cases in which the victim lost his/her job or can no longer perform activities, following injuries suffered, are taken into account.
Minimum payment for criminal injury claim	GBP 1,000 is the minimum payment for a criminal injury claim. Below this sum, payments are not considered.
Verification of the criminal record	The authorities reserve the right to check the criminal record of persons interested in a criminal injury claim.
Do I need to report an incident to the police?	You should report a violent incident in which you were involved or witnessed.
No win no fee solicitors	We work with no win no fee policy as a guarantee for our clients who do not need to pay anything if the case is not successful.
Why choose the services of our personal injury lawyers in London	You can work with a professional and experienced team of personaly injury lawyers, at affordable prices.
What is CICA and how it can help you	CICA stands for Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and decides whether an applicant is eligible for compensation or not.

What is a CICA claim?

Established in 1964, the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA) was created to provide compensation to victims of violent and sexual crimes who have endured traumatic experiences. While their headquarters are currently situated in Scotland, they handle claims from across the UK, excluding Northern Ireland.

The CICA program serves as a valuable resource, but a comprehensive grasp of its various rules and regulations is essential. It is commended for offering a secure environment for individuals to receive equitable compensation that acknowledges their trauma, which the criminal justice system may not achieve.

CICA compensation varies according to each specific case and the circumstances involved, ranging from £1,000 to £500,000. The compensation awarded is determined by the gravity of the incident and the extent of the victim’s injuries. If you are planning to make a CICA claim, it is recommended to get legal help. Get in touch with our criminal injury lawyers for their practical assistance.

When it is necessary to apply for criminal injury compensation

People who face criminal injuries must consider specialized legal help. Thus, if they were involved in violent acts, without their will, or if, following accidents, they were left without income and without the possibility to work further, they can make a criminal compensation claim. Here is some information about the CICA claim: 

• If one of your family members died as a result of a criminal injury, you could claim compensation.
• You can make criminal injury claims even after two years from the date of the respective accident, but you must prove that at that time you could not act in this sense.
• If you have lost your income due to a criminal injury, we advise you to ask for compensation. Our London personal injury lawyers can guide you in this regard.
• An indirect account is necessary for those interested so that the authorities can make a correct and complete identification.
• You could potentially be eligible to initiate a claim for criminal injuries to get compensation if you took a risk that was both justified and exceptional in an attempt to thwart a criminal act. For instance, if someone’s safety was at stake, and you were not adequately trained to handle such a situation.
• You can also claim compensation if you are suffering mental health injuries such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an injury.
• If you have faced physical injuries in a violent act like burns, fractures, head and spinal injuries, and nerve damage, you are eligible to claim for criminal injuries to get compensation.
• Physical or sexual abuse victims are also eligible to apply for compensation. Please get in touch with our criminal injuries lawyers to initiate a claim.

Even if the experience you went through is traumatic, we recommend that you get in touch with our personal injury lawyers in London and ask for help with criminal injury compensation. We can prepare the necessary documents and explain the conditions for a criminal compensation claim.

Eligibility check with the CICA scheme

Depending on the criminal injuries you suffered at a given time, you can ask for compensation. But, first of all, you must check the eligibility criteria with the CICA scheme. Thus, our lawyers can use the claim compensation calculator to determine if the case presented by you is eligible to receive compensation.

Therefore, we can help you in this endeavor and it is the first thing we consider when we start the collaboration. If you are interested in criminal injury claims, do not hesitate to contact us and learn more about our legal support.

Exceptions for making a CICA claim

Generally, a CICA claim must be initiated within two years from the date the crime occurred. Nevertheless, there are specific exceptions to this rule:

• If the victim is a child, a claim can be filed at any time before the child’s twentieth birthday, as long as the crime was reported to the police during the victim’s childhood.
• In cases of historic childhood abuse, a CICA claim may be made within two years from the date the abuse was reported to the police, regardless of whether the victim was an adult when the report was made.
• In situations where the victim has compelling reasons for not submitting a claim within the standard two-year time frame, the CICA may permit the claim to proceed if there is a valid justification for the delay, such as a victim suffering from a severe mental illness.

The team of our personal injury lawyers is here to assist you in pursuing a CICA claim on a no-win, no-fee basis. This arrangement ensures that you will not have to make any initial payments, and if your claim is not successful, there will be no charges for our services. 

So, if you plan to claim compensation for criminal injuries, it is suggested to avail legal assistance. You are always welcome to get legal support from our personal injury lawyers in London to institute a claim for CICA criminal injuries compensation. 

Who cannot claim compensation from CICA?

The CICA will not grant compensation to an applicant if, at the time of the application, he/she has a conviction for an offense even if it is unrelated to the application and that led to any of the following:

• a sentence that is not eligible for rehabilitation,
• discharge from His Majesty’s service,
• a community order,
• a youth rehabilitation order,
• a custodial sentence,
• a sentence of service detention.

If you have a previous conviction and you are not sure if you can apply for CICA compensation, you are welcome to get in touch with our personal injury solicitor in London. They can offer you detailed answers to your questions regarding CICA compensation. 

Who is eligible to apply for CICA compensation?

Victims of violent crimes are eligible to apply for a CICA claim, provided they satisfy the following criteria:

• Occurrence: The crime must have occurred in England, Wales, or Scotland.
• Police report: The crime must have been reported to law enforcement. The CICA mandates that applicants must promptly report the incident to the police. If you fail to report the incident and cooperate with the police, the CICA will not grant you an award. Reporting to an alternate authority is not an available option.
• Nationality: You must meet the nationality requirements. To be eligible for CICA compensation, you must have been one of the following at the time the crime occurred:

1. a British citizen, EU, or EEA national, or their close relative;
2. a family member of an EU or EEA national with the right to be in the UK;
3. a potential victim of human trafficking, as confirmed by the UK Human Trafficking Centre and UK Visas and Immigration;
4. an asylum seeker;
5. a national of a country that has signed the Council of Europe Convention on the Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes;
6. a member of the armed forces or a close relative residing in his/her household;
7. a potential victim of human trafficking, as confirmed by the UK Human Trafficking Centre and UK Visas and Immigration;
8. an asylum seeker;
9. a national of a country that has signed the Council of Europe Convention on the Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes.

If you have any doubts about your eligibility to seek compensation for criminal injuries, our criminal injury lawyers can guide you to the most suitable course of action for your situation.

Documents required for criminal injury claims

When you think of making a criminal compensation claim, you will have to present some supporting documents. Thus, the photo and video materials will be useful, where they exist, as well as invoices issued by the medical clinic where you were treated. Also, if you have reported the respective incident, it is recommended to present the police reports in this regard. These will strengthen your case and you will be eligible to receive compensation under criminal injury.

We recommend you read some statistics about criminal injuries in the UK:

• In 2020, over 690 homicide cases were registered.
• In the same year, around 46,000 incidents involving sharp instruments were recorded.
• Over 62,000 robbery cases were reported in 2020 in the UK.
• During the year ending March 2022, the police in England and Wales recorded 2,887 offenses related to Honor-based abuse. This marked a 6 percent rise compared to the previous year, ending March 2021, when 2,725 offenses were reported.

If you want to know more details about criminal injury compensation, we invite you to contact us. Our personal injury lawyers in London can provide you with the necessary legal support and information about what the CICA claim entails.