Personal injury works on the law of tort (negligence); whereby if a person is injured as a result of another person accidentally causing them to come to harm, the injured party has a right to pursue the negligent party for compensation.
So what happens if you are injured as a result of a premeditated attack or assault from a third party?
You still have a right to claim for compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (Aka CICA) – www.cica.gov.uk
According to a recent BBC report, a man was injured as a result of a malicious premeditated attack at a football match, leaving the injured man with a permanent disfigurement (source).
The victim was assaulted before the start of the Manchester United vs. Barcelona Champions League cup tie earlier in May this year by a man whose identity remains unknown, but whose image from CCTV footage has been released as part of police enquiries.
The report details that the victim had intervened in a row between the attacker and an unknown woman outside the stadium; but both parties went their separate ways following a threat from the unknown offender.
Unfortunately the two crossed paths again inside the stadium and the attacker proceeded to, without provocation, bite the victims ear off, leaving him with permanent disfigurement.
The report quotes Detective Constable Robinson saying: “The victim had done absolutely nothing to warrant such a vicious attack and has been left permanently scarred by the assault. As any decent person would, he simply came to the aid of a woman who was being picked upon by this man outside the stadium but thought that was the end of the matter.”
It’s not a nice story! If you have been injured as a result of a premeditated incident causing you to sustain injury, we suggest you seek expert advice from an independent personal injury solicitor such as ourselves.
But we, as an honest firm of personal injury lawyers, need to make you aware of the dynamics of a CICA claim.
Unfortunately law firms are not entitled to any costs for their work done whilst pursuing a claim on behalf of an injured party through the CICA. For this reason, the system many law firms have in place is to regrettably charge the client a percentage of their damages to cover the fees; for example we at The Injury Lawyers charge 30%.
BUT: you can make a claim through the CICA without a personal injury solicitor. Most law firms will not tell you this as they would rather you not know, allowing them to offer to take your claim on and win the percentage of your damages.
Of course, we advise that you instruct an independent expert personal injury solicitor such as ourselves to act for you as we know how to maximise your claim for damages – pursuing your claim at a much faster pace and maximising the compensation you are entitled to. So in many instances, it works out for the better to instruct a solicitor!
But remember, many law firms keep this information from you as a selfish act to ensure you instruct them! So be aware of any advice you receive from a law firm and ensure to ask all the right questions.
Please do not hesitate to contact our friendly staff for some free, no obligation advice on pursuing a CICA claim; we promise to give you the honesty you deserve!
