Am I entitled to claim criminal injuries compensation? Our brief guide to eligibility for the CICA criminal injuries compensation scheme.
When making an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), the question of your eligibility for the scheme will need to be considered.
Not all victims of violent crime are eligible to claim CICA compensation. This has recently been in the news after an applicant who had suffered childhood abuse had their compensation claim rejected due to their criminal record. According to Sky News over 11,000 victims of crime have seen their application to the CICA rejected due to unspent criminal convictions.
The CICA’s eligibility criteria
The CICA scheme has a set of eligibility criteria. Under CICA rules an applicant must:
- Be the direct victim of a crime of violence
- Apply within two years of the incident
- Suffer the incident in England, Scotland or Wales
- Be a resident of the UK
- Fully cooperate with the police in their investigations
- Not have a unspent criminal record
Special circumstances for making a CICA claim
However, there are extenuating circumstances that will be taken into account by the CICA, especially involving the timeframe for when an application is submitted.
Our team is highly experienced in challenging CICA decisions and establishing special circumstances that would allow a claim to proceed.
How we challenged a rejected claim and recovered £240,000 for our client
One of our specialist lawyers, Elizabeth Duncan, has recently assisted an applicant whose claim was rejected for being ‘out of time’ by the CICA. Elizabeth took up her case and argued that her client’s trauma experiences impacted her ability to make an application. The CICA accepted our representations and made an award of £22,000. After discussing this with her client Elizabeth appealed the award. The appeal was successful and resulted in the applicant being awarded over £240,000.
Contact us for a free consultation about your CICA claim
We offer a free assessment of applications that have already been submitted to the CICA, as well as potential applications, and work on a No Win No Fee basis.
We specialise in CICA reviews and appeals and operate a confidential helpline.
So, if you have been wondering, ‘Can I get criminal injuries compensation’, or have any questions about eligibility for the CICA compensation scheme, then please get in touch with our team of specialist lawyers.