The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) paid out £153 million to victims of crime last year.
Depending on the severity of your physical or psychological injuries, you could be entitled to compensation ranging from £1,000 to £500,000 from the government run scheme.
Many awards are for more than £25,000 and some are increased further on appeal.
Our CICA experts understand that as a victim of crime, how much compensation you are awarded could depend on the evidence you submit with your claim.
As a third of all CICA claims are changed on appeal I’ve been looking at what awards victims are entitled to – compensation that could be life changing for many.
How CICA awards are calculated
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority calculates awards based on the seriousness of the injury and the long-term impact it will have on a victim’s life, whether that is a physical injury, a mental injury or both. It will also consider an award for loss of earnings due to those injuries.
The CICA will calculate how much a victim is entitled to from what it calls a ‘Tariff of Injuries’ table.
The table is split into ‘Physical and Mental Injuries’ and ‘Sexual and Physical Abuse’. A victim could be awarded compensation from both sections.
Arrange a call back with our criminal injury lawyers
CICA awards and the Tariff of Injuries
Many CICA awards that are over £25,000 involve a permanent or seriously disabling mental injury, usually following a sexual assault and / or abuse. Others include head injuries.
CICA awards for Mental Injury and Physical Injury
CICA Mental Injury Awards
A mental injury is disabling if it has a substantial adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities for a specified time.
It could affect and impair your work or performance at school or your hobbies, and it could also affect social relationships or lead to sexual dysfunction.
Examples of CICA Mental Injury Awards
- £27,000 award for a disabling mental injury, confirmed by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, which is permanently and seriously disabling
- £19,000 award for a permanent and moderately disabling mental injury
- £13,500 for mental injury lasting five years or more but not permanent
One of our clients, a man who had struggled through 12 years of his life suffering from the psychological impact of being stabbed outside his home, received £246,000 in damages after his criminal injuries case was reopened.
The man had been awarded just £1,250 in damages after completing the process himself. However, with the psychological injuries related to the attack still impacting significantly on his life, he was advised by his counsellor in 2018 to seek further legal redress.
Read more: Damages of £246,000 secured for man stabbed after ‘medical reopening’ of criminal injuries claim
CICA Brain Damage Awards
A brain injury can cause physical or mental damage, resulting in, for example, loss of muscle or nerve control, loss of balance, incontinence, or impairment of concentration, memory, motivation or personality. It can also commonly cause epilepsy.
Examples of CICA Head Injury Awards
- £22,000 If you have suffered a minor brain damage and made a good recovery but have persistent problems with concentration and memory and these are significant and long lasting (2 years or more) affecting lifestyle, leisure activities, future work prospects
- £27,000 for slight brain damage that would require some dependence on others and also lead to intellectual deficit, personality change, ability to work reduced, some effect on the senses
- £55,000 for moderate brain damage
- £82,000 for significant brain damage
- £110,000 for moderately severe brain damage that results in serious disablement of physical or mental faculties requiring substantial dependence on professional or other care, with marked impairment of intellect and personality, abnormal behaviour and poor communication
- £175,000 for very serious brain injury resulting in severe physical limitation, significant effect on the senses with little insight or significant reduction in life expectancy. Little or no meaningful response to the environment, little or no language function, double incontinence and need for full-time or all day and some night nursing care
- £250,000 if life expectancy is greatly reduced or there is little or no insight due to persistent vegetative state. No useful physical movement, significant effect on the senses and with some degree of insight. Little or no meaningful response to the environment, little or no language function, double incontinence and need for full-time nursing care
CICA awards for Sexual and Physical Abuse
- £22,000 for sexual assault involving a pattern of repetitive frequent severe abuse over a period of 3 years or more resulting in serious internal bodily injuries
- £22,000 resulting in permanently disabling mental illness confirmed by psychiatric prognosis – moderate mental illness
- £27,000 resulting in severe mental illness
- £33,000 moderate mental illness
- £44,000 severe mental illness
Additional CICA payments
Other payments where a person has sustained any of the following as a direct result of their being the victim of a sexual offence, an additional payment will be made.
- £5,500 – Pregnancy
- £5,500 – Sexually transmitted infection other than HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C with a substantial recovery
- £11,000 – Sexually transmitted infection other than HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C resulting in permanent disability
- £22,000 – Infection with one or more of: HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C (sustained as a result of any crime of violence)
- £5,500 – Loss of foetus (sustained as a result of any crime of violence).
Another of our clients, a 50-year-old father who alleged he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a former teacher four decades ago was awarded £131,000 damages by the CICA.
Our experts set out his allegations of suffering repeated sexual abused in the early 80s when he was aged between 12-14.
The damages were awarded in recognition of the impact the abuse had on the man’s life, even though the police complaint was made after his alleged abuser had died.
Read more: Father awarded £131,000 for sexual abuse by teacher four decades ago
It’s not too late to make a CICA claim
If you have experienced sexual abuse or an assault, it is your right to make a claim for criminal injuries compensation.
The report to the police does not need to have been made at the time, and the timeframe for submitting a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not start until the date the matter is reported to the police.
In cases of sexual assault and abuse, as a general rule, the CICA requires a claim to be submitted within two years of the date you reported the matter to the police.
Last year the CICA refused over a thousand claims because they were not submitted within the two-year time limit, but our experienced case workers can advise you whether it may be possible to ask for the limit to be waived.
Read more: Why it is never too late to make a criminal injury claim after a sexual assault
Appealing a CICA award
CICA’s latest annual report reveals around 30% of its compensation awards were changed following a successful appeal.
Applicants who disagree with CICA’s decision can request a review and, if still dissatisfied can appeal to an independent panel.
In one case our client was eventually awarded £129,600 in damages by the CICA for the physical and ongoing mental injuries suffered when attacked by three men in his own home.
The man, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, initially applied to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority himself and was offered £1,500.
However, after seeking the specialist support of our CICA claims experts his damages were increased.
He only needed one night in hospital to treat his physical injuries, but the shock and trauma of the attack proved far more life-changing, leaving him ‘a shadow of himself’.
Read more: £129,600 damages secured for victim of brutal attack after initial £1,500 CICA offer
Hudgell Solicitors are experts in Criminal Injuries Compensation Awards, we understand that as a victim of crime, how much compensation you are awarded from CICA, could depend on the evidence you submit with your claim.
Making a Criminal Injuries Claim
If you or a member of your family has come to harm as a result of crime of violence, you have a right to seek compensation for those injuries. We put your interests first, ensuring the most appropriate and effective legal specialists are handling your claim.
The first step is to get in touch using our online claim form. From here, one of our expert criminal injury lawyers will contact you for a confidential discussion of your circumstances, guiding you on the best path forward.
