CICA Claims FAQs

You may be eligible if:

• You have been injured seriously enough to qualify for at least the minimum award of £1000.
• You were injured in an act of violence in England, Scotland or Wales. The offender does not necessarily have to be convicted or charged with the crime.
• You must make your application within two years of the incident that caused your injury.

You will not be eligible if:

• You were injured before 1 August 1964.
• You have already applied for compensation for the same injury under the 2008 scheme or under any earlier scheme.
• The injury happened before 1 October 1979 and you and the person who injured you were living together at the time as members of the same family in the same household.
• The act of violence took place outside England, Scotland or Wales.

An application can also be refused or reduced because of:

• Your own behaviour before, during or after the incident in which you were injured.
• Your own criminal record.
• Any failure on your part to cooperate with the police.
• Any delay on your part in informing the police of the incident.

Any claim for compensation should be brought to the authority within 2 years of the injury.

Any claim brought outside of the 2 years will be at the discretion of the CICA. If the authority considers that there is a good reason for the delay and that it is in the interests of justice to do so, they may make an exception. Examples of this may include; injuries sustained as a child, you lack capacity in which to bring a claim and/or your English is poor.

In addition, consideration may be given to an out of time application if the injuries only became obvious some time after the initial incident.

It is likely the CICA will reject the claim in such circumstances. The CICA consists of a very strict criteria, at the very least the authority would expect genuine claimants to have reported the matter to the Police.

Yes. The fact that the Police did not prosecute will have no bearing on your case provided that the facts are clear and that you cooperated fully with the investigation.

The CICA will enquire as to whether any medical treatment was sought in relation to the sustained injuries. It can prove difficult to make a successful claim if you have not received treatment from either your GP or local hospital/A&E/ambulance service.

The CICA has a series of grades/scales for calculating compensation according to their seriousness of the injury. Minor injuries, for example scratches or bruises, will not qualify for an award alone. However, if you have a combination of injuries, which has required at least 2 visits to a doctor for treatment and recovery from these injuries has taken at least 6 weeks, then you may qualify.

Different grades are allocated to different injuries. Physical and/or mental injuries are graded according to their seriousness. If you have received more than one injury the compensation will include the full amount allowed for the most serious injury, and a percentage of each further injury in order.

The CICA do not pay anything towards your legal costs. If you wish to make an application to the CICA without legal representation you are free to do so and you will not then incur any costs. If you instruct St Helens Law to pursue your claim we will proceed on a Contingency Fee basis, if the claim succeeds we will charge you a fee of 25%. If you are unsuccessful there are no charges made.