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| Criminal Injury --- CRIMINAL INJURY, MAKING CLAIM |
| Introduction |
| In certain circumstances, if you were injured as a result of a criminal act, or while witnessing a criminal act or trying to stop one from committing a criminal act, you can recover compensation from the state. Compensation is awarded by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). |
| The Law Says, |
| In order to recover compensation from CICA, you must satisfy certain terms and conditions. Firstly, you can only recover compensation for injuries suffered within the 2 years of the injury. Exceptionally, you may be able to make a later claim for which a solicitor’s advice is recommended. Secondly, you must have suffered your injury in Britain. Thirdly, you must report to the police about the crime which caused your injuries as soon as possible. Fourthly, you must not have contributed to your injuries, in any way. If you have by any chance contributed towards your injury, you can still make a claim, but your compensation is likely to be reduced or you may not be awarded any compensation by CICA. Fifth, any past criminal convictions held by you will have be taken into account by CICA, even if they are not related to the crime which has now caused your injuries. Finally, you must cooperate with CICA during its investigation of your claim. It is immaterial, however, if the offender was not caught or identified and provided you do not know the identity of the offender either. |
You can make a claim for compensation for serious physical injuries and certain minor injuries. You can also make a claim for certain mental injuries. But you must have suffered the mental injuries because of the following reasons:
(i) you were in fear of physical harm;
(ii) you witnessed a person with whom you have/had shared a close relationship, being injured or killed as a result of the crime, trying to stop a crime being committed or trying to stop another person committing a crime;
(iii) you were sexually assaulted or abused;
(iv) you worked on the railway and you witnessed someone being physically injured or killed because of an incident on the railway; |
| ‘You can make a claim for compensation for serious physical injuries, certain minor injuries, and mental injuries. The amount of compensation will depend upon the severity of the injury. |
You can also recover compensation in the following losses, if you lost wages for more than 28 weeks as a result of the injury:
(i) your lost wages, after the initial 28 weeks period;
(ii) future loss of wages;
(iii) the cost of your care;
(iv) certain expenses, including items damaged or lost when you were injured, equipment you needed because of your injury, the cost of treatment you had for your injury, the cost of adaptation to your house because of your injury, expenses you are likely to incur in the future. You may not recover the full amount you spent on these expenses; only what CICA considers as a reasonable amount. |
| If you are unemployed, you may be able to claim for the cost of your care and the expenses you suffered because of your injury, providing that, if you were employed, you will have lost more than 28 weeks’ wages. |
| Your claim for compensation may be reduced if you were partly responsible for your injuries, e.g. you provoked the criminal attack; you have past criminal convictions; you did not co-operate with CICA while enquiries; or you already received compensation for your injury, e.g. from a court or from the person who caused your injury. |
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