In this guide, we explain the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and its role in paying compensation to violent crime victims. We illustrate this with examples of CICA payouts taken from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.
We look at what the CICA is and what it dors. Additionally, we look at how to claim criminal injuries compensation as well as some of the eligibility requirements that need to be satisfied.
This guide also explores criminal injuries and examines the CICA tariff that might apply. We’ll also explain special expenses and loss of earnings compensation.
A No Win No Fee solicitor specialising in criminal injury claims can help you make a claim through the CICA. We conclude this guide by looking at how one of the solicitors from our panel can support your case on a No Win No Fee basis.
If you have any questions or need help getting a criminal injuries compensation claim started, get in touch with a member of our advisory team. An advisor is available on the following details:
- Call 020 8050 2736
- Fill in our claim online form and an advisor will contact you.
- Ask ‘Can I claim criminal injuries compensation?’ in our live chat.
Select A Section
- What Is The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority?
- Examples Of CICA Payouts
- GBH Compensation
- Domestic Violence Compensation
- Sexual Abuse Compensation
- Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings?
- Can I Make A No Win No Fee CICA Claim?
- Read More About Potential Examples Of CICA Payouts
What Is The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority?
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, or the CICA, awards compensation to people who have sustained physical or mental injuries (or both) as the result of a violent crime in England, Scotland or Wales. Violent crime is defined as a physical attack, other act or omission that’s violent in nature, a threat that causes reasonable fear that immediate violence will be carried out, sexual assault or arson.
If you’ve sustained an injury due to a crime of violence and cannot claim directly against the perpetrator, the CICA might be able to award you compensation. However, you must prove that:
- You reported the incident to the police. This is because your police reference number will be required to claim through the CICA. However, you do not need to wait for the perpetrator to be convicted to seek compensation.
- You sustained injuries in a crime of violence, as defined above. Claims could be made for a physical injury, or a mental injury or any combination of up to three injuries (more on this next).
- The incident occurred in England, Wales, Scotland or another relevant location.
- You are within the CICA time limits. Generally, this is two years from the date of the incident. However, there are some exceptions.
Direct any questions about the eligibility to claim through the CICA to our advisory team. One of our team members can also look at examples of CICA payouts relevant to your injuries.
Examples Of CICA Payouts
If you make a successful claim, your compensation from the CICA will be calculated using the fixed amounts found in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. There are a few different factors that can affect your payout, including:
- Injury severity.
- Special expenses.
- Your character. For example, if you have any unspent convictions, you might not be awarded the full tariff.
Are There Compensation Limits When Making A CICA Claim?
The maximum amount the CICA pays out is £500,000. This includes compensation for your injuries, special expenses and loss of earnings.
Under special expenses, you could be compensated for:
- Property damaged in the incident that you relied on as a physical aid, such as a walking stick.
- Treatment costs (when these aren’t available for free)
- Specialist equipment.
- Accommodation adaptations.
- Care and supervision costs.
Additionally, if you are seeking compensation for multiple injuries, the tariff amounts will be subject to the multiple injury formula, which is as follows:
- 100% of the tariff for the highest valued injury.
- 30% of the tariff amount for the second-highest-valued injury
- 15% of the tariff amount for the third-highest-valued.
Generally, the CICA will not award compensation for more than three injuries. However, certain injuries are exempt from this formula. These include pregnancy, losing a foetus and contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). If the incident resulted in any of these, you could be awarded compensation from a different tariff in addition to injuries from the main tariff.
In the next few sections, we will look at tariffs from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. You can also call our advisors, who can help you understand examples of CICA payouts.
GBH Compensation
Grievous bodily harm (GBH) is unlawful intentional wounding. This results in serious bodily injury. For example, knife crime victims could have a potential claim through the CICA. If you sustained injuries in a stabbing and the perpetrator intended to inflict this harm on you, then GBH has occurred.
The table below looks at the CICA tariffs for injuries you could sustain due to intentional wounding. As we looked at above, there are various factors that can impact the payment a successful claimant will receive, so the tariff amounts are not the overall value of a claim.
| Injury | Notes | Tariff Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Very Serious Brain Injury | The injured party suffers severe physical limitations and significant effect on the senses. They have little insight. | £175,000 |
| Kidney Loss | Both kidneys have suffered serious permanent damage or loss, or the injury occurred to their only functioning kidney. | £55,000 |
| Tongue Loss | The claimant's tongue has been lost. | £44,000 |
| Arm Loss | The injured party lost their non-dominant arm. | £33,000 |
| Facial Fractures | Multiple facial fractures. | £11,000 |
Contact a member of the team if you were the victim of GBH and would like to talk about examples of CICA payouts that could be relevant to your criminal injury claim.
Our Research Into Assaults And GBH
Given that we help so many people with their criminal injury claims, we set out to conduct some research to work out the true extent of the problems.
Below, you can find links to our dedicated research and statistics pages on a range of issues:
Domestic Violence Compensation
Victims of domestic violence may also be able to make a compensation claim through the CICA. This includes psychological and emotional abuse.
In the table below, we look at a few tariff figures for injuries you could sustain as the result of domestic abuse. Previously in this article, we explained how different factors can impact the CICA compensation amount a successful claimant can receive. Therefore, this table does not represent the value of a case.
| Injury | Notes | Tariff Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Moderately Severe Brain Damage | The injured person suffers serious physical or mental disablement with impairments of their intellect and personality. | £110,000 |
| Facial burns | The claimant sustained severe facial burns causing more than minor disfigurement. | £27,000 |
| Mental Injury | The injured person suffers a seriously disabling permanent mental injury. | £27,000 |
| Hip Fractures or Dislocations | Both of the claimant's hips have been fractured or dislocated leading to continuing significant disability. | £16,500 |
| Arm - Radius | The claimant suffered fractures to both forearms. These causes a significant and continuing disability. | £11,000 |
One of our team members can look at the circumstances of your claim and talk you through examples of CICA payouts.
Sexual Abuse Compensation
Survivors of sexual offences can also claim through the CICA. This includes victims of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse, both recent and historic.
Our table below contains tariff amounts for sexual offences. This table only contains the tariff amounts. As we looked at earlier, different factors go into how the CICA calculates the value of a claim. Therefore, the amounts below are not representative of what a successful claimant could receive.
| Injury | Notes | Tariff Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Non-consensual penile penetration | The incident(s) cause serious internal injuries and a severe permanent disabling mental illness. | £44,000 |
| Non-consensual penile penetration | A pattern of repeated incidents (with one or more attackers) lasting 3 years or longer. | £22,000 |
| Non-consensual penile penetration | The incident involved two or more attackers. | £13,500 |
| Sexual Assault | The claimant suffers severe permanently disabling mental illness due to sexual assault. | £27,000 |
| Sexual Assault | This results in the claimant suffering serious internal injuries. | £22,000 |
Get in touch with our advisory team to talk about examples of CICA payouts.
Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings?
As we mentioned above, part of your payout (if you make a successful claim) could include compensation for your loss of earnings. In order to claim a loss of earnings payment, you must meet the eligibility criteria listed below.
- Due to the incident, you will not be able to work, including being totally unable to do any form of paid work or being able to work only in a limited capacity.
- You must have been working at the time of the incident or have an established work history (or good reason not to, such as being in full-time education) in the three years immediately preceding the incident.
- Unable to work for longer than 28 full weeks (typically, you can claim statutory sick pay for the first 28 weeks).
You can ask any questions about the loss of earnings element of criminal injuries compensation of our advisors. They can also go through examples of CICA payouts with you.
Can I Make A No Win No Fee CICA Claim?
If you are eligible to claim compensation through the CICA, you may like to have the help of a specialist criminal injury solicitor during the process. One of the solicitors from our panel could support your claim. Our panel generally use a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to provide their services. This is a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement.
When your claim is represented by a No Win No Fee solicitor:
- They won’t take payment for their services upfront.
- There are also aren’t any ongoing fees.
- You won’t be asked to pay for your solicitor’s work on your case if your claim fails.
- A small legally limited percentage of your award will only be taken as a success fee if your claim is successful.
If you have any further questions about claiming criminal injuries compensation, please speak to a member of our team. They can explore examples of CICA payouts with you and assess the nature of your claim. Additionally, if you are eligible, you could be connected to one of the solicitors from our panel.
To discuss claiming for a criminal injury with the support of a No Win No Fee solicitor:
- Call 020 8050 2736
- Request a call back using our claim online form.
- Ask how to claim criminal injuries compensation in our live chat.
Read More About Potential Examples Of CICA Payouts
A few internal links that you might be interested in:
- Further guidance about the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) from PICUK.
- Statistics and information about Gun Crimes in the UK from PICUK.
A few external websites that might be useful:
- Information about how to report a crime and anti-social behaviour from the government.
- Details about how to get support from Victim Support. They’re an organisation that helps victims of crime.
- Guidance on how to make a silent 999 call from the Police.
Please direct any questions about claiming through the CICA to our advisory team. A team member will be able to go through examples of CICA payouts with you.