Obtaining compensation through a criminal compensation order

A person convicted of a criminal offence may be ordered by the court to pay compensation for injury, loss or damage they have caused to someone else by committing the offence. If you have sustained an injury or loss which forms part of a prosecution case you should ensure the prosecutor has full and accurate information about the injuries and losses you have suffered so these can be put before the court. You are not allowed to apply yourself.

The amount of compensation will depend on what the offender can afford to pay but will not exceed £5,000. If the court makes a criminal compensation order, the the court is responsible for making sure the offender pays.

Call 0800 066 99 07 and get our personal injury team working for you straight away. The call is free, the advice is free and nothing will ever be deducted from your compensation.

Obtaining compensation from The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) compensates victims who suffer as a result of violent crime. In order to qualify as a "criminal injury", a victim must have suffered a personal injury in Great Britain which was directly attributable to:

• a crime of violence (including arson, fire-raising or an act of poisoning); or
• an offence of trespass on a railway (to compensate train drivers who suffer psychological injury as a result of suicides on railway lines); or
• helping (or attempting to help) the police after a crime had been committed

Close relatives of victims who have died from their injuries are also entitled to claim

It is not necessary for any assailant to have been convicted for compensation to be paid but the injury must be sufficiently serious to be eligible for the CICA's minimum claim of £1,000. Under the CICA tariff system, this level of compensation would equate to a minor sexual assault, a chipped tooth, a disabling but temporary mental anxiety, a fractured rib or a range of injuries lasting 6-13 weeks (such as double vision, a sprained wrist or partial deafness.

Multiple minor injuries also qualify cumulatively, provided they have required at least two visits to a doctor. At least three separate injuries must have been sustained from the following list, with at least one having residual effects six weeks after the incident:

• grazing, cuts, lacerations;
• severe and widespread bruising
• severe soft tissue injury
• black eye
• bloody nose
• hair pulled from scalp
• loss of fingernail

A fixed tariff of injury payments is provided for by the Authority ranging from the minimum £1,000 up to £250,000 for extreme brain damage where the recipient has no control over their functions.

Exclusions from the scheme

Most road traffic offences are specifically excluded from the scheme as these tend to be covered by motor insurance companies and, for hit-and-run drivers and the uninsured, by Motor Insurance Bureau provisions: http://www.mib.org.uk

Applications for compensation is likely to fail or be reduced if there is a delay in reporting the incident of if the victim proves uncooperative with police attempts to bring the offender to justice.

Compensation may also be refused or reduced to "undeserving victims" and CICA will take account of the claimant's conduct before, during and after the incident and indeed their character, taking account of unspent convictions and indeed any other available evidence, although these do not necessarily mean that compensation will be refused.

Specific rules apply to violence within the family as compensation will be refused if there is any possibility of the offender will benefit from the crime.

Making a claim

The Criminal Injury Compensation Authority: http://www.cica.gov.uk (0800 358 3601) You can apply online, discover details of the scheme and the compensation levels. Alternatively you can seek assistance from injurywatch.co.uk's case evaluation service which can provide assistance in criminal injury cases.

You will need to have the following information to hand:

about the crime:

• the time, date and location where the incident occurred
• the crime reference number
• the name and number of the police officer who dealt with your case
• the name and address of the police station where the officer is based.
  

about the injuries:

• what injuries were sustained
• the address and postcode of the hospital you attended for treatment
• the full name of the doctor and the dates you attended to receive treatment
• the full name and address of your GP
• if you received dental treatment, we need the full name and address of the dentist, and the dates of treatment.
  

Claims must normally take place within two years of the incident although the authority may extend this limit under exceptional circumstances (for example if you suffered abuse as a child).

Most claims are settled within 12 months and 45% succeed at the initial decision stage. If your claim fails at that point then you are permitted to request a review which will be conducted by a more senior officer. The request for a review must be made in writing and must outline the reasons why a review is being requested. Almost 40% of cases which are subject to a review result in an award for the victim.

If your claim fails at the review stage can appeal to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel: http://www.cicap.gov.uk

The most recent statistics show that 36.8% of appeals resulted in a successful outcome for the victim.

There are no further options for appeal but decisions may be challenged by an application for a judicial review in the High Court.