What is the process for making a criminal injury claim?

To make a claim for Criminal Injury Compensation, you will need to contact us. Firstly, we will assess your claim and we will make a decision on whether you have reasonable prospects of successfully pursuing a CICA claim via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
The process for making a claim is that an Application Form will need to be submitted to the CICA for them to assess whether you satisfy their criteria for a compensation award. Thereafter, the CICA will investigate your claim to include obtaining the police incident report into the incident, witness statements, your medical records, request additional information from you and evidence in relation to your injuries and associated financial losses e.g. loss of earnings before making a final decision.

The criteria for making a claim is as follows:-

• You must be a blameless victim of the criminal incident e.g. not provoked the incident.
• You must have reported the incident to the police as soon as reasonably practicable, normally this will mean immediately following the incident.
• You must have been ordinarily resident in the UK on the date of the incident.
• You must generally not have a criminal record otherwise the CICA may either refuse or reduce the amount of the award even though you were blameless in the incident.
• You must cooperate with the CICA in the application process and in the provision of information requested by the CICA.

The length of time needed to assess the claim will vary depending on how complicated it is. Complex cases may take longer to decide.

Does it matter where the incident occurred?

The incident has to have happened in the England, Wales or Scotland. We can provide advice if the incident happened outside of these areas, please call us to discuss if this is the case.

Do I need to have contacted the police?

Yes, the incident has to have been reported to the police at the time for a claim to be eligible.

Does the attacker need to have been found guilty or convicted for me to make a claim?

It is not necessary for the person who injured you to be identified or convicted, in order for you to get a payment. However, the CICA expect you to have done everything reasonably possible to help the police catch your assailant and bring them to justice.

Does it matter how long ago the incident was?

As a general rule the incident needs to have taken place in the last 2 years prior to the claim being submitted to the CICA. There are some cases where this would be assessed, for example, if the injuries were too severe for the first 2 years for you to be able to make a claim. This is up to an adjudicator to decide and is on a case by case basis.