1. Don’t wait for the outcome of the Court Hearing. The CICA has time limits and will reject your claim if they receive it more than 2 years after the assault. So apply now and once the Court Case has been decided tell the CICA. Even if your assailant is not convicted, you are likely to receive compensation. The test for CICA eligibility is different to a Court Conviction. Compensation is paid to ‘Blameless Victims of Crime’, not because your attacker has been convicted.

2. Check your injuries are covered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The CICA do take a long time to consider a claim. A year or even longer. There’s no point applying when the CICA do not pay compensation for that type of injury. Examples of what they don’t pay for include, Anxiety, Black Eyes and Scarring covered by hair. The best way to check if it is worth bringing a claim is to use a criminal injuries compensation calculator. If your injuries are not listed, it’s unlikely you will receive compensation.

   Call our criminal injuries claim team on 0113 320 5000

3. Make sure the Police have a statement from you. If you called the Police after an assault, but were not able to give a statement at the time as you were being rushed to hospital. Do follow it up, as the CICA must have a Police Report and must be satisfied you cooperated with the Police. The CICA can say if there isn’t a statement you have not cooperated, and are not eligible for compensation.
4. If your claim is for historic sexual abuse, you cannot start your claim until you have reported it to the Police. Once reported you have up to 2 years to commence your claim for compensation, but the sooner you make your application the better. In these types of cases the abuser may not be around, so there is no Court Case. Providing the CICA accept your Police Statement, and you do not have any current medical condition as a result of the abuse, the CICA can often payout compensation surprisingly quickly. They don’t need to wait for a Court Case and don’t need medical notes as there is no current medical condition to check.
5. If you are suffering from anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares or panic attacks, you will only receive compensation for these injuries if they are clinically diagnosed by a Psychiatrist or a consultant Psychologist. The CICA do not pay compensation for mental injury which is only confirmed by a Doctor or a Counsellor. It must be from a Psychiatrist or consultant Psychologist.

For a free no obligation assessment of your case, please call 0113 320 5000. We can advise you on eligibilty, likely amount of compensation and if we can offer a ‘no win no fee’ agreement.