Our team of experienced criminal injury specialists have helped a 58-year-old man make a CICA claim after being assaulted by three men in balaclavas on his doorstep in an ‘apparent random attack’.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) was set up by the Ministry of Justice to provide compensation to blameless victims of crime who have been mentally or physically injured as a result of crimes of violence or abuse.
It states: “Any payment we make is intended as an expression of public sympathy for the effects of the crime you suffered.”
For more than two decades, our team of CICA solicitors have worked on behalf of hundreds of clients to help them secure the maximum amount of damages from their CICA claim.
Man beaten over head with truncheon outside own home
The latest case we assisted on involved a harrowing incident in West Yorkshire in February this year.
The man was at home and expecting visitors when there was a knock at the door just after 6pm. However, when he opened the door, three men in balaclavas started to attack him.
Our client managed to get hold of one of the attackers and shouted to his son for help, at which point the other two assailants then began hitting him over the head with a truncheon-like object and a torch before fleeing the scene.
The man’s son called the police, who later stated the assault had been an ‘apparent random attack’, but officers from West Yorkshire Police were unable to locate the three individuals.
Our client did not fall to the floor in the attack or lose consciousness, but was taken by paramedics in an ambulance to hospital and treated for head wounds, which required stitches. He was left with a scar on his forehead from the attack (pictured).
Client turned to Hudgell Solicitors to make a CICA claim for compensation
Following the attack, the man made an internet enquiry and instructed Hudgell Solicitors to make a CICA claim as an innocent victim of a crime.
Alexandra Eldon, a member of Hudgells’ Civil Liberties and CICA team, helped her client fill in the CICA application form.
She liaised with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) with any queries it had on the case and supplied it with hospital and GP records, as well as images of the scarring.
Ms Eldon managed to secure a four-figure damages sum in compensation for the man following the CICA claim.
CICA response outlines how it processes applications from victims of crime
In the letter of response from the CICA making an offer to our client, the case handler laid out how the amount of compensation awarded related to the man’s “significant head scar”.
“I appreciate that no amount of money can fully compensate you for the effects of the crime you suffered, but I hope that this decision will allow you some degree of redress,” they said.
“I was sorry to read that you were the victim of a violent crime and the injuries you sustained.
“In making my decision, I have carefully considered all of the evidence which is available to me which includes the information you have provided when you submitted your application for compensation, the medical evidence, the scarring photographs and the information which has been provided by the police.
“By way of explanation, the amount of compensation that can be awarded and the rules I must apply are set out in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. The scheme rules are set and approved by Parliament.
“The scheme allows us to make an award for either significant or serious scarring. The scheme guidance provides the following definitions: Significant scarring is where there is a noticeable and measurable disfigurement which is not minor in cosmetic effect and which is clearly visible to a reasonable observer.
“Serious scarring is where there is a clear and obvious measurable disfigurement which goes beyond significant disfigurement and where cosmetic effect is very disfiguring.
“On assessment of the photographs you have provided of the scarring, I have made an award for significant scarring to your head.”
How loss of earnings is factored in with a CICA claim
To be eligible for a loss of earnings payment in a CICA claim, there must be evidence to show that you have no or very limited capacity for any paid work, and not just capacity for your particular job, for a period exceeding 28 weeks.
You must also have been in paid work at the time of the incident and been so for a period of three years prior to the incident, or you must have a good reason for not having been in regular paid work, for example due to being in full-time education or by reason of your age or caring responsibilities.
And the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority case handler in this CICA claim added: “I have also considered whether or not you would be eligible for a loss of earnings.
“However, I am unable to make any award for loss of earnings as there is no evidence available that as a direct result of the incident, you had no or very limited capacity for paid work for longer than 28 weeks.”
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Find out more about making a CICA claim
Can I claim criminal injuries compensation for being assaulted?
