A man has been awarded £40,000 damages by a Government scheme to compensate victims of violent crime after he was kidnapped by a gang of men who threatened to kill him.
The 60-year-old victim was dragged into the car by the gang after answering his back door. He was driven hundreds of miles and endured an eight-hour ordeal.
During the kidnap he had a covering placed over his head and was repeatedly threatened as the kidnappers threatened to shoot him.
“It was horrendous. I thought that day that I’d get killed. I walked away from it alive, but I still lost everything. My life was ripped apart as I’ve never recovered mentally and now I live my life looking over my shoulder. It was terrifying.” he said.
The man said the men who kidnapped him had done so as they were trying to locate one of his sons, who had ‘been in lots of trouble with drugs and money’.
“Sadly my son went down a bad path in life and got himself involved in drugs and ended up owing lots of money to people who you don’t want to owe money to,” he said.
“In the end it was us as a family that suffered. It destroyed our family and my life. We’re not in touch anymore.”
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Police offered protection advice and helped relocate
Following the kidnapping, the man received telephone calls in which he was threatened not to give evidence against those who were arrested in relation to his kidnapping.
Police advised him to increase security at home, to install CCTV, to always carry a mobile and to change his daily routines. He was also helped to move away from the local area and placed in a hotel for his protection.
“I was offered the chance to change my identity but I didn’t want to do that as I have two other sons, a daughter-in-law and grandchildren, and had I changed identity I wouldn’t have been able to contact any of them. I couldn’t face that at the time. I needed to be in contact with them, and know they were safe,” the man said.
His attackers were eventually brought to Crown Court and handed lengthy jail sentences, but he says it has been he who has been left with the life sentence following the attack on him. He continues to be supported by specialist mental health support workers.
“I have to live looking over my shoulder. If I hear any unexpected noise I panic. I have nightmares. Just recently my phone rang and the voice was unfamiliar, and the panic just ran through me. It impacts on me every day,” he said.
“I try not to follow a routine now like I used to, and I have a special pass on the buses which allows someone to accompany me. It’s hard living like this though.”
Solicitors ensured a higher damages award was offered
The man, who now lives in sheltered accommodation, says he was advised to seek damages through the Government’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) by police protection teams.
He sought the advice of Hudgell Solicitors to make his application, who helped secure an increased final settlement of £40,375, having challenged an initial offer of £25,351 made by the CICA.
Tracy Thames, a specialist in handling CICA cases at Hudgells Solicitors, said: “This was obviously a horrendous attack on our client over a sustained period of hours, in which he genuinely feared for his life. It is hard to imagine the fear he must have experienced.
“An application for damages from the CICA was made on his behalf to compensate him for his injuries and we were strongly of the opinion that the initial offer made to him did not reflect the long-lasting mental injuries suffered, and also the impact the incident has had on our client’s earnings.
“For this reason we challenged the award, submitting evidence as to why we felt it was insufficient, and we were pleased to secure such a significant increase.”
The man, who has asked not to be named, and not to state where he currently lives, said: “I have been really impressed by the legal support I have received, and that there is a process in place to compensate people who suffer like I did. For anyone like me, who loses so much as a result of being an innocent victim, it is a vital service.
“I want to use the higher settlement to give some money to my other two sons and my grandchildren. They have been through this like I have. It has impacted everyone in my family. It will be the only good to come from it all.”
Should you, a family member or a friend suffer physical or psychological injuries due to a violent crime, it may be possible to recover assault compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) set up by the Government.
Even if the offender has not been caught or charged, or if the police are unable to identify the person responsible, our criminal assault lawyers will fight to secure the justice and compensation you’re entitled to.
Please download a copy of our Criminal Injuries Guide.
The CICA was established to help innocent victims receive the support they need to get their life back on track. To obtain free expert advice or start an assault claim, please get in touch today – we promise to handle your case with discretion and care.
