The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)
If you have you been injured because of a violent crime, or while trying to apprehend a criminal or prevent a crime you may be eligible for an award of compensation for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
What is it and what does it do?
The CICA is a government agency responsible for paying compensation to victims of violent crime. The CICA staff administer the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme that pays compensation to people that have been victims of violent crime. The CICA currently handles around 80,000 cases annually and pays out about £200 million every year to victims of violent crime.
How does the scheme operate?
In order to be considered for compensation you must submit an application in the CICA’s prescribed form. The application is then processed by the CICA staff, who apply a set of criteria to your claim.
In order to ensure that the form is completed correctly and submitted with the appropriate supporting documentation, our experienced staff will advise you fully about all aspects of your claim.
How do I know if I am eligible to claim?
To help you to decide whether you are eligible for compensation try answering the following simple questions:
- Did the incident occur within Great Britain?
- Did the incident occur within the last 2 years?
- Is the injury directly attributable to a crime of violence?
- Did you report the incident to the police?
IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ALL
Many people are put off applying for compensation until it is too late.
Note that if you are a parent, child, husband or wife, or long-term partner (including same sex partners) of a victim you can still apply for compensation.
We hope that you find the following pages helpful in dispelling some of the myths surrounding your ability to make a claim for Criminal Injuries Compensation. With our help we hope you will feel confident enough to contact us for further help and advice.
Did the incident occur within Great Britain?
As long as the injury sustained in Great Britain NOT abroad and NOT N Ireland (which has its own scheme) then you will be eligible to make a claim.
Did the incident occur within the last 2 years?
Has less than 2 years elapsed from date of incident giving rise to the injury? If so the CICA will not usually consider your application. However there is a discretion to waive the time limit where, having regard to the circumstances, it is reasonable and in the interests of justice to do so. This discretion is particularly important to claims involving abuse. Very often the victim of the abuse may be unable or unwilling to speak out regarding the abuse, which may only come to light many years later, especially if the abuser is a family member or close family friend. In cases such as this the CICA is likely to waive the two year time limit in the applicants favour. Such matters need to be handled with particular sensitivity. Here the assistance of a trained advisor with experience of similar claims can be of great assistance in easing the burden the applicant might otherwise feel.
Is the injury directly attributable to a crime of violence?
Meaning of injury.
To be eligible for compensation there must have been an ‘injury’. This can be either a physical injury or a mental injury, including disease. It also includes a claim for the death of a person due to a crime of violence.
Meaning of crime of violence
“Crime of violence” is not defined. The Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme does not give an exact definition of a crime of violence, but it will usually involve a physical attack on the person, for example assaults and sexual offences.
You might think it only covers violent assaults but does also include injury directly attributable to all of the following as well:
- Arson;
- Fire raising;
- Poisoning;
- Trespass on the railway (e.g. where staff employed on the railway suffer injury due to the acts of a trespasser);
- Injury caused whilst attempting to apprehend an offender or prevent an offence;
- Use of a vehicle, but only if used deliberately to inflict injury (i.e. use of the vehicle as a weapon);
Did you report the incident to the police?
You may think that in order to be eligible for compensation, there needs to have been a conviction. This is not the case. It is however essential that the mater was reported to the police.
There are many reasons why an assailant may not have been convicted. It may be that the person has never been traced, or is simply too young or too insane to stand trial. None of these things will prevent you from bringing a claim with our help.
Your conduct before, during or after the event is often an important factor. Compensation may be withheld or reduced if there has been a failure to co-operate with the police following the incident, or if your conduct during the incident makes an award inappropriate, or if you have relevant convictions.
How is your claim for compensation valued?
The award of compensation is made strictly in accordance with a tariff, with different injuries attracting different levels of award. Level 1 represents the minimum award under the Scheme at £1,000 with Level 25 being £250,000.
By way of example ...
On 14 March 2000 a mental health nurse, was removing a patient from one area of the hospital to another area. The patient, who suffered from severe learning difficulties, started to behave aggressively in the lounge area where there were staff and other residents. He first tried to pull a cupboard down on himself and he lashed out and tried to bite anyone he could grab. The applicant tripped forwards and landed on her hand, injuring her wrist.
The applicant submitted an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for damages for her injury. The CICA originally made an award of £3,000. However, the award was subsequently withdrawn on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the claim that the injuries were a result of a crime of violence.
On appeal, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeal Panel (CICAP) reinstated the award as it was accepted that: (i) the applicant's injuries were directly attributable to a crime of violence; (ii) the patient's actions fell within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 1996 either because he had sufficient mental capacity to appreciate the nature or quality of his act, or, if he did not appreciate the nature of his acts, because he was criminally insane and the case therefore came within the scheme.
It should be noted that the awards at the highest end of the scheme appear generous (up to a £500,000 maximum). But it needs to be remembered that this is not just for pain and suffering, it is the entire award. There is no further amount for future losses like cost of care.
Also there is no award at all for loss of earnings for the first 28 weeks and then any award that is made is capped at 1.5 times average earnings.
If damages have already been recovered in civil proceedings in respect of the same injury, the CICA award will be reduced pound for pound.
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