The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) was first set up in 1964 and compensation was paid out in a similar manner to the civil courts however the rules were changed in 1996 and again in 2001 at which time a tariff scheme was introduced to simplify payments as a result of receipt of a UK criminal injury claim by the CICA.

Prior to the introduction of the tariff scheme, damages for personal injury in these cases were assessed and it became obvious that differing amounts were being awarded for similar injuries, that there was no consistency and virtually every award was being appealed. The system had become burdensome and expensive to run and new regulations were introduced in 1996 that were subsequently amended in 2001 which is the current UK criminal injury claim scheme now in use.

In order to qualify to make a successful claim an applicant must be an innocent victim of crime however there need not necessarily be a successful conviction. The injury must have lasted at least six weeks and require at least two visits to a medical practitioner for treatment. The applicant must have reported the incident to the police promptly, must not have provoked the incident or goaded the assailant or retaliated afterwards and must have a relatively clean criminal record. The applicant must continue to assist with the investigation and prosecution. The victim and attacker must not reside in the same household. Applications must be received at the CICA offices with two years of the attack subject to a discretion by the CICA.

The tariff scheme for a UK criminal injury claim operates by allocating each and every potential injury to a tariff band. There are 25 different tariff bands ranging from £1,000 to £250,000. The amount of compensation to be paid to the applicant is calculated by considering the worst three injuries that have been suffered. Each injury is allocated into a tariff band however the sun awarded is not simply the sum total of these bands. The worst of the three is injuries is paid at full rate, the second worst injury is discounted to 30% of the tariff value and the least injury is discounted to 15% of the tariff value. The three net figures are added together and are subject to a cap of a maximum payout of £250,000.

In addition to the payment outlined above for pain and suffering other sums can also be claimed for losses and expenses, again capped at a further maximum of £250,000. Compensation for loss of salary can only be claimed for losses incurred for the period after 28 weeks absence from work. Nothing is payable for the first 28 weeks incapacity. In addition there are certain special expenses that can be claimed by those that qualify for wages loss compensation including :-

• loss of or damage to physical aids
• National Health Service costs for treatment
• reasonable cost of private health treatment
• cost of special equipment, home adaptations and care which is not available free of charge

We are an independant claims company with no connection to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. If you have suffered injury in a violent assault you may be able to claim compensation. We operate the no win no fee scheme and no charge is made unless you actually receive compensation. If your claim is refused or rejected you pay nothing. For like free legal advice just complete and send the contact form or use the telephone helpline and our experts will advise on your potential claim without further obligation. If after talking to us you decide to proceed no further then that is your prerogative and you will not receive any bill from us for our initial advice.