Criminal Injuries Compensation

Criminal Injury Compensation comes from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), which was set up in 1964. The purpose of the CICA is to compensate the victims of violent crime.

The CICA administrates compensation to people in England, Scotland and Wales, who have been injured as a result of a violent crime. With about 450 staff from the Home Office and the Scottish Executive; the CICA have offices in Glasgow and London and receive roughly 65,000 applications for criminal compensation a year. The CICA spends on average £200 million in compensation payments.

So what constitutes a violent crime? A physical attack/assault that has left you with major injuries or a sexual assault. Things such as a road traffic accident and minor scratches aren’t covered by the CICA.

We hope that the offender who caused your injuries is caught but if they are sadly not you are still entitled to claim for compensation through the CICA. The CICA does not require the offender to be caught or traced but you do however have to report the crime to the police.

If you have suffered mental illness due to your attack there is a chance you can still apply for compensation, however compensation under this term is only awarded in limited circumstances.

The CICA require information from the police and medical authorities in order to process your application for criminal compensation, when this information reaches the CICA your application will be taken further. You must apply to the CICA within two years of your attack.

The CICA also pay compensation for loss of earnings, normally if you can’t work for more than 28 weeks. However if you have suffered a criminal injury anywhere but England, Scotland or Wales you won’t be entitled to Criminal Injuries Compensation but most countries will probably have their own similar scheme as the CICA.

If you require more information about the CICA or their process please do not hesitate to get in touch with us here at Accident Consult, specialists in no win no fee claims.

Tags: circumstances, compensation payments, criminal injury compensation, london, loss of earnings, mental illness, road traffic accident, violent crime