A woman who suffered extensive injuries after being viciously attacked has been awarded £48,000 damages by a Government scheme to compensate victims of violent crime – but only after lawyers stepped in to challenge an initial offer of just £1,800.
The victim was left with a split palate and a fractured jaw and has suffered from severe PTSD after being attacked by her friend’s partner when stepping in to protect her during a violent row.
She underwent surgery for extensive injuries, which also included a fractured eye socket and injuries to her teeth. During the horrifying attack she was punched to the ground, then repeatedly stamped on her face.
Neighbours heard the attack and rushed to help the women out of the house and into a waiting taxi, while the attacker grabbed a knife and chased after them.
She spent a week in hospital and underwent a five-hour operation to have a metal plate inserted into her mouth. It took two months for her to be physically recovered from the ordeal. Her attacker was jailed for nine years and three months.
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Legal support sought after a compensation offer of just £1,800
The woman, 35, applied for compensation from the CICA herself and initially received an offer for £1,800. She then contacted Hudgell Solicitors to assist with a CICA appeal.
This led to an independent psychological report being prepared, which outlined how she had suffered severe depression and anxiety that had left her with flashbacks, fear of open spaces, and spells of terror and panic.
More than five years after the attack, she is still suffering from PTSD and is awaiting a medical trial for CBT therapy.
An increased compensation offer in excess of £48,000 was made, which she accepted.
Although she says she still lives with the fear of seeing her attacker, who is already free from prison, she says she is hopeful of rebuilding her life from this point and has moved to a new area to start again.
Settlement award ‘healing’ and has brought a new start
The woman, who lost her job after the attack due to the decline in her mental health, describes the settlement as “healing” and said it has enabled her to furnish her new home and treat her children and loved ones, who she says have also suffered. She said:
I moved house in May last year because of all the bad memories, and after getting the settlement, I have now been able to kit out my house with nice things, and I have given some money to my whole family – my kids and sisters.
We all went through this, there was a ripple effect and what happened to me affected the whole family, so I wanted to help them too, with driving lessons and money for things.
I am also going to get my teeth fixed after they were damaged in the attack, which will help my self-esteem, and help me to feel like ‘me’ again.
Appeals to CICA result in offers six times higher
Last year, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) revealed how victims of crime who appealed initial offers made through the CICA ended up being offered six times more.
In 379 cases which reached appeal in 2022/23, an average of £7,848 was initially offered for each claim, the association said, but when appealed the offer in these cases increased to an average of £47,339 – more than six times per person.
Tracy Thames, of Hudgell Solicitors’ specialist CICA compensation claims team, said:
When this lady contacted us it was clear to me that she had been offered a settlement which in no way reflected the suffering she had been through and the impact this attack has had on her life.
Once we have the specialist psychological report the CICA increased its offer to £13,500 in recognition of a disabling mental injury lasting five years or more.
It was my opinion that she had also suffered a significant loss of earnings, so we also submitted a statement of the case to include this in her award, which I am pleased to say both the CICA and the review tribunal agreed should be reflected in her damages.
Unfortunately we see far too many cases where people have applied to the CICA without expert legal support and have been offered damages settlements which are simply not reflective of their suffering.
It can be very difficult for people to start chasing the evidence they need and reliving what happened to them, and it is often too much to ask a victim to understand the full impact on them, physically, emotionally and financially. They miss out on details from their applications and this results in insufficient offers of damages.
I was really pleased to help her out and secure a much higher settlement which has enabled her to start rebuilding her life.
The legal help was ‘amazing’
The woman paid tribute to Mrs Thames and said:
Getting my settlement has made me feel so much better, I can close the door and move on now. It was hanging over my head but now I feel like a big weight has lifted in terms of my PTSD. It has already improved my nightmares, it has healed me. I feel like I can move past it.
When I got offered the £1,800 I felt gutted and at first I said to my mum that I might as well take it so that it brought an end to it all.
Tracy was amazing and pushed me to carry on and I am really glad I did, as the initial amount was just insulting. Tracy was so good and had so much knowledge and she just said she knew she could get more for me, and although I was apprehensive at first, I felt I had nothing to lose. I am so glad I did because it has really helped me to move on.
I am looking forward to the future, I have been stagnating for five years now. I just feel like I can finally breathe again and I just want to live, instead of just existing.
