It's a unfortunate fact of life that innocent people are sometimes attacked or assaulted and may suffer physical or psychological injuries.
If you have been the victim of a criminal assault and suffered injuries as a result, you may be eligible to make a criminal assault compensation claim . Clough and Willis have a team of specialist criminal injury compensation solicitors who may be able to help you claim compensation for injuries due to a criminal assault.
If you are assaulted or attacked in the UK , there are three different ways you can make a personal injury claim for compensation for your injury.
The first is to make a personal injury compensation claim against the assailant directly; however, this is not recommended as even if your personal injury compensation claim is successful, your attacker may not have the means to pay any compensation a warded.
The second way to make a personal injury compensation claim is against your employer. This would only apply if the attack / assault took place while you were at work and you feel that your employer exposed you to an unnecessary and foreseeable risk which could have been avoided.
The third and probably the most common route to take to make your personal injury claim is to make an application for personal injury compensation to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), which pays injury compensation to victims of assaults which have occurred in Great Britain
The CICA scheme allows financial awards to be made:
- For both physical and mental injuries due to criminal assault.
- Compensation awards for past or future lost earnings due to a criminal assault or attack
- For bereavement as a result of a criminal assault, including, in some cases, personal injury compensation for the lost earnings of the person who has been killed.
CICA has set out several rules. These include:
- Injuries must have been caused by a criminal assault that occurred in England , Scotland or Wales ( Northern Ireland claimants are not eligible).
- Your criminal assault compensation claim application must be lodged within two years of your assault, although this is discretionary and often waived.
- The criminal assault must have been reported to the police and you must be seen to have fully co-operated with them.
- Criminal assault compensation will only be provided if your injuries are serious and exceed the £1,000 minimum award.
- You must be able to prove that you have been the innocent victim of a violent crime.
- If you are seen to have provoked or willingly participated in the criminal assault or have a record of violence, any criminal assault injury compensation claims may be refused or reduced.
The amount of compensation you may receive for a criminal assault may vary but follow the link below for more information -
Personal Injury Compensation Amounts
Operating on a "No win - No Fee"* basis Clough and Willis's extensive expertise enables them to recover the compensation awards to which clients are entitled. To arrange your free initial interview please contact Chris Macwilliam, chris.macwilliam@clough-willis.co.uk.
* Dependant on individual circumstances.
