Can I CICA claim?
The CICA decide to make compensation awards by following a set of rules known as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The CICA scheme sets out the conditions which must be met before a victim of crime will be considered eligible for compensation. You could be eligible to claim if:
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- You were physically or mentally injured (or both) as a result of a crime of violence in Scotland, England or Wales.
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- You do not need to be a British citizen to apply.
- In assessing an injury the CICA will take account of any relevant medical conditions you had before you were injured
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- You were physically or mentally injured (or both) as a result of a crime of violence in Scotland, England or Wales.
- You were the dependent and/or a close relative of a person who died as the result of a violent crime.
- A close relative normally means the husband, wife, civil partner (or a person who was living within the same household as the victim in a relationship like a husband, wife or civil partner), parent or child.
- You were injured in the last two years. This time limit may be disregarded, but only in exceptional circumstances where:
- the circumstances of your injury meant that the CICA could not reasonably have expected you to apply within the two-year time limit, and it is still possible to investigate your claim.
- Your injuries are serious enough to qualify for the lowest (minimum) award the CICA can pay under the Scheme. The minimum award is £1,000. If your injury is not serious enough to qualify for a £1,000 payment the CICA will not be able to make an award.
How much can I claim?
If you are considered eligible to receive compensation for your injuries from the CICA, there is a set tariff of awards that are available depending on the type of injuries you have sustained. Examples of some of the awards available include:
- £3,500 Fractured Jaw
- £27,000 Loss of an Eye
- £1,500 Loss of a Tooth
- £1,000 Fractured Tibia
- £11,000 Scarring
More specific details on how much compensation you can get can be found on our CICA scheme page.
What we do for you:
- We provide fast and efficient service with no complication and no hassle.
- We handle the case as sensitively as possible so you don’t suffer any more needless trauma
- We liaise and make CICA contact which takes a lot of the pain and stress away
- We guarantee a high-quality service, all our Solicitors have many years of experience claiming from the CICA
- Work tirelessly to make sure we get the highest amount of compensation as possible
- Help gain justice for the pain caused to you
What is a Criminal Injury?
By definition, a criminal injury is an injury caused by a crime of violence. A crime of violence is behaviour by a person or persons involving physical force intended to hurt, damage or kill someone. In the context of criminal injury compensation, the actual injury can be physical or mental so long as it’s been caused by a criminal act. Some of the more common types of criminal injuries are claims of abuse – such as child abuse, sexual abuse, rape and domestic abuse.
Confused? Unsure if what’s happened to you constitutes as a criminal injury? Give us a call today and let us listen to your story and help you.
The History of the CICA
The CICA, or Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, is an official executive agency of the UK Government and was originally known as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board when it was set up in 1964. Remade into the CICA in 1996, it continues in its mission to provide compensation to the victims of violent crime.
With headquarters in Glasgow, the CICA administers aid to victims of crime in England, Wales and Scotland, and is funded by different agencies and bureaus in the different countries. In England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice backs the CICA; in Scotland, it is supported by the Justice Directorate instead.
Since 1964, when it was established, the CICA has paid over £3 billion in criminal compensation – making it one of the most generous compensation authorities in the world.
Since its London office was closed, the CICA has employed 450 people in dedicated civil service roles from both the British Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government to process the compensation claims they receive at their Glasgow headquarters, and each year this team processes 65,000 applications and pays £200 million in criminal injury compensation.
Up until the rebrand of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in 1996, the compensation received by victims of violent crime was determined by what their payout would have been after a successful civil action against the offender. With the rise of the CICA in 1996, this system was scrapped, and the level of compensation received is now worked out using a fixed scale set by Parliament.
After revisions in 2001, 2008 and 2012, the scale can now categorise over 400 types of injury, each one corresponding to one of 25 levels of compensation, between £1,000 and £500,000. In this way, the CICA makes sure that everyone deserving of compensation is dealt with fairly and their unique circumstances are adequately met.
