I’m lucky that I’ve never been involved in any serious trouble like this, but there are thousands of innocent victims out there who end up being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffer injuries because of someone else’s neanderthalic behaviour. But the main question is, how do victims of assaults get any compensation for what’s happened?
Pursuing a claim against an individual is not really the easy way forward. They will probably not have any insurance to claim from, and probably won’t have the funds to compensate you – nor will they know how to deal with a claim against them. Ultimately, it’s not the most viable option; thankfully, there is an alternative.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Or CICA as they are informally known – are a government body set up to compensate victims who suffer as a result of a crime. Commonly the claims are for assaults. The CICA will investigate a claim and pay compensation if you meet their criteria. However, their criteria is extremely strict – follow these simple rules as a guideline for their basic criteria.
Te basic criteria is inclusive, but not exhaustive, of:
- The crime being reported to the police immediately (usually 48 hours maximum).
- Medical attention being received immediately (usually within 48 hours).
- Your injuries were caused as a result of a crime.
The CICA will also look at the events in their entirety when it comes to the decision making process for whether to compensate victims or not, and how much they could be entitled to receive:
- Your conduct prior to the events is taken in to account; e.g. if you were verbally abusing someone in the street and they lost their temper and hit you, you would be seen as part of the cause as to why you were assaulted. This of course does not justify the assault, but your actions leading up to the assault are taken in to account.
- Criminal convictions – if you have any criminal convictions, these will probably be taken in to account, in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act. The nature if your criminal conviction and any sentences will also be taken in to account. If you have previously been convicted of assault or a serious crime, you will may be rejected for a claim.
Dependant on the above, you may either be accepted for a claim and receive a payout from the CICA, accepted for a claim subject to a percentage deduction to take in to account any breaches of the above, or rejected entirely.
The Stages of the Claim
The initial stage is for the CICA to investigate with the police and your GP to confirm reporting the matter and medical attention. When they are satisfied they have the necessary information to make their decision, they will provide their first response. You do not have to accept their first response – you can ask for the case to be reviewed by another member of their team; say if you believe your award is too low, or if you believe you shouldn’t have been rejected for the case.
Once the case has been reviewed for the second time, a second response will be received. This could agree with the first response, or provide a different decision entirely. If you still disagree, the case can be independent heard by a tribunal and a new decision can still be made.
From experience in dealing with CICA claims, the CICA will not normally provide their best response straight away – so many cases end up going for second reviews and tribunals. The CICA have a duty to protect public funds, and will therefore heavily scrutinise claims and payments. You can therefore expect a bit of a fight on your hands.
Claim Valuation
The CICA have their own guidelines and rules for payouts. You must qualify for a minimum injury before a payout can be awarded.
Getting a Solicitor
You do not have to have a solicitor representing you for a CICA claim. It can be beneficial as we can fight for you to make sure you get the maximum payout, and we know the rules and protocols to be able to make the claim run at a potentially faster pace. However, the CICA do not pay legal fees – a lawyer representing you on a No Win, No Fee basis will likely charge you a percentage of the compensation payout in settlement of fees.
Making a Claim
You can start a claim by contacting a solicitor or by visiting this website http://www.justice.gov.uk/victims-and-witnesses/cica. We can sometimes assist on a No Win, No Fee basis, but only if we are confident the claim will succeed, and only if it is worth over a certain valuation to ensure our legal fees are accurately reflected in any deductions we must make.
You should also remember that CICA cases can take a considerable amount of time to conclude.