The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) are an agency that can compensate those who have been victims of violent crimes in England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain). They are part of the Ministry of Justice and their offices are located in Glasgow. They handle over 30,000 claims per year.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 sets out the eligibility criteria for criminal injury claims being made through the CICA, as well as setting out fixed tariff amounts for various criminal injuries under the tariff of injuries.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to make a criminal injury claim through the CICA, certain eligibility requirements need to be met. These are:
- Your injury must have been suffered in a crime of violence. The Scheme provides examples of incidents that are defined as a crime of violence. These include sexual assault, an attack (such as knife crime or a gun crime), arson, grievous bodily harm (GBH) and threat of attack.
- The incident must have happened in Wales, England, Scotland or other relevant place.
- The incident will need to have been reported to the police. You will need to provide the CICA with your police reference number to prove this.
- Your claim should be made within the correct time limit. This is generally 2 years from the date the incident took place. However, there are exceptions to this.
When making a claim through the CICA, it is important to note that there is no requirement for the assailant to have been caught or prosecuted.
You may also be able to make a claim via the CICA if a loved one was criminally injured and you suffered a psychological injury (such as PTSD) due to witnessing the immediate aftermath of this incident, or if you were bereaved as a result of a crime of violence.
Claiming Compensation
As aforementioned, the criminal injuries you are claiming for will be valued in line with the fixed tariff of injuries set out within the Scheme. Under the multiple injuries formula, you could claim compensation for up to three injuries. The amount of compensation you would be awarded are as follows:
- 100% of the fixed tariff amount for the injury that is valued highest.
- 30% for the second-highest or for an injury of equal value.
- 15% for the third-highest or for an injury of equal value.
Compensation could be awarded differently if you lost a pregnancy, became pregnant or contracted an STI as a result of a crime of violence.
The CICA are also allowed to consider claims for certain costs under the Scheme, referred to as ‘special expenses’. Under this, you could receive:
- Any physical aids that were damaged in the incident.
- Equipment, such as a wheelchair, that is needed to cope with your injuries.
- Adaptations to your home that were needed to help you cope with your injuries.
- The cost of care that relates to preparing food or your bodily functions.
You must be able to demonstrate that all of these costs directly resulted from your injury. They also must be reasonable and necessary and cannot be available elsewhere for free.
You may also be able to claim for a loss of earnings, but specific requirements will need to be met to do so.
Contact us today to see whether you could make a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.