Making A Personal Injury Compensation Claim After Being The Victim Of A Crime

Making a personal injury compensation claim after being the victim of a crimeWe are experts in all area of personal injury law at Clearwater Solicitors and handle a huge range of personal injury compensation claims, some involving relatively minor injuries and others involving injuries that can have life-long implications or can prove fatal.

A large number of people suffer serious personal injuries as a result of an assault of another criminal act, and these individuals can make a claim through a scheme administered through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). This is a government-run initiative that pays personal injury compensation to people who have suffered mental or physical injuries in violent crimes, and with overall awards ranging from between £1,000 and £500,000.

In some cases, this is not enough money to cover the full consequences of a person’s injury – for example, if someone suffers a serious brain injury in an assault – something that can happen incredibly easily – the costs associated with this injury could easily lead to the tens of millions of pounds, with the victim requiring lifelong care and treatment, expensive rehabilitation, and costly medical treatment. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme will also pay out compensation to the dependants and close relatives of people who have died as a result of criminal injuries, but this might be far less than the claimants would have received in other personal injury compensation claims.

Nonetheless, making an application to the CICA may be people’s only opportunity to receive compensation for injuries sustained as a result of a crime – it is unlikely that criminals will have insurance to cover them should a compensation claim be brought against them.

How CICA Process Personal Injury Compensation Claims

When CICA receive an application regarding a personal injury compensation claim, they will process it on the claimant’s behalf. The claimant will not have to go to a hearing – instead, the organisation will write to them or their legal representative to tell them of the outcome. If the claimant agrees with the overall value of the compensation claim, they will have to sign a form to show they accept the sum of money. If they are not happy with it, the claimant can ask CICA to review their decisions, and if the claimant disagrees with CICA’s review, they can make an appeal to the Tribunals Service. This must be made within 90 days of the date they received the CICA decision letter.

If you wish to make a criminal injuries compensation claim, but feel you need representation to ensure you receive the personal injury compensation you need, then you should speak with solicitors to help you fill in the application form. Clearwater Solicitors are perfectly placed to help you do so; you can rest assured your claim is in safe hands with us. Call us on 08000 430 430 or fill in our online enquiry form for more information.