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As a victim of a crime, you are entitled to criminal injury compensation for your injuries. But to get the maximum compensation amount, you will need advice from a criminal injury solicitor.
Making a criminal injury compensation claim
If you have been the victim of a violent crime then you will know just how traumatic and distressing the experience can be. What you may not know is that you could be entitled to claim criminal injuries compensation for your suffering. You may even be eligible to claim compensation if you have suffered loss or damage as a result of police or army action.
Claiming compensation for criminal injuries
You may be able to claim criminal injuries compensation if you have suffered a mental or physical injury (including sexual offences); loss of earnings or any special expenses; or the loss of a parent, husband, wife, child or partner who died as a result of a criminal injury. The personal injury solicitors at Blackwater Law will be able to determine how strong your personal injury claim might be and will advise on the most appropriate legal course of action.
‘Limitation period’ for claiming compensation
Known as the Limitation period, the standard period for commencing legal proceedings to bring a personal injury compensation claim is usually three years. However, in order to be eligible to claim criminal injuries compensation you are required to make your claim within two years of the incident your injury. Applications may still be accepted after two years if it wasn’t reasonable to expect an application to be made within this time, but it is advisable to seek expert legal advice from our criminal injury solicitors as soon as possible.
The importance of expert legal advice
Criminal injury compensation payments could be reduced or even refused if you fail to co-operate with the police, or if there is a delay in informing the police or other organisation about the incident. It is therefore imperative that you speak to an experienced personal injury solicitor about your claim for compensation as soon as possible. Thankfully, our solicitors deal with criminal injury compensation claims on a regular basis and our knowledge and expertise will help you claim the compensation you deserve.
Our Criminal Injuries Expertise
Criminal injury claims need to be handled differently to other personal injury claims, so it is vitally important to choose a solicitor that fully understands the process. The personal injury solicitors at Blackwater Law have extensive experience of handling a wide range of criminal injury compensation claims.
All criminal injury claims are made through the government’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), an agency set up to compensate victims of violent crime for the physical and mental injuries they have suffered. There are over 400 different types of physical and mental injury for which the CICA will award criminal injury compensation. These awards range from £1,000 to £500,000 depending on the nature of the crime and severity of the injuries suffered.
Our team of criminal injury lawyers will work with you and the CICA to ensure you receive the maximum compensation settlement within the rules of the criminal injury scheme. We can also offer advice on state benefits and other payments, which may be available if your injuries have left you unable to work or needing ongoing care and support. If the injuries you suffer are so severe you are left needing extensive rehabilitation or specialist medical treatment, we can provide advice about available medical treatment and rehabilitation organisations.
Blackwater Law can also help you claim compensation even if the perpetrator of the attack was never caught, identified or convicted. We will discuss the available legal options with you, which may include civil action or a compensation order from the court.
Criminal Injury Compensation Eligibility
You may be entitled to make a criminal injury compensation claim for the injuries you have sustained if your case meets the following criteria:
- The injury was sustained during an act of violence which occurred in England, Scotland or Wales. You should note that the offender will not necessarily need to have been convicted or even charged with the crime that led to your injuries.
- Your injury was sustained within the past two years.*
- You must have reported the crime and cooperated with the authorities.
*If your injury was sustained outside of this time frame, you may still be eligible to make a claim for compensation. The CICA may still accept application if it wasn’t reasonable for you to make a criminal injury claim before this time and there is still adequate evidence available for consideration. We will be happy to discuss this with you free of charge and without obligation.
Our Approach to Criminal Injury Claims
We handle all criminal injury compensation claims with the utmost professionalism and discretion. We offer exceptional client service, and you will have direct access to your legal team when you need it. We can either meet you in person, talk through your criminal injury case over the telephone or communicate by email; whichever suits you best. We will always keep you up-to-date with the progress of your compensation claim and explain the options available to you in plain English, enabling you to make informed decisions when it comes to your criminal injury claim.
The initial consultation will be free of charge and you can undertake criminal injury compensation claim on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis.
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