Making a CICA Claim for Physical or Sexual Abuse

Posted on: 21 May 2019 - 4 mins read

Abuse Claims Solicitor

If you have experienced physical or sexual abuse and wish to make a claim under the Criminal Injuries Compensation (CIC) Scheme, contact our Abuse Claims Solicitors for free legal advice and a no-obligation discussion.

Who is Entitled to Compensation?

A person can be awarded compensation under the scheme if:

They sustained their injuries on or after 1st August 1964
The incident happened in Great Britain (The Scheme excludes Northern Ireland as they have their own schemes)
The crime has been reported to the police and the victim has cooperated with the police as far as reasonable practicable.
An application must be made as soon as possible and within 2 years of the incident
Where the abuse occurred when the person is under 18 and it is reported to the police after their 18th Birthday then the application should be made within 2 years after the date of the first report to the police.
An award can be made to the victim for either the acts of the sexual/physical abuse or a psychological injury

How to Apply for Compensation

The Criminal Injuries Scheme is a scheme administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) designed to compensate blameless victims of a crime of violence (including abuse).

The CICA will ask whether you have looked into claiming compensation from the person who injured you or their employer if appropriate, and pursued it if there was a likelihood of success. A person may be required to provide information to the CICA that they have attempted to obtain a payment from other sources such as insurance payments and made an application for benefits. There is no need, however, to await the outcome of other claims before you apply. We can, of course, also help you to claim compensation through the civil courts, which may be a better option. The application is made online via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority website.

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What if my Abuser wasn’t convicted?

If you’ve reported physical or sexual abuse to the police but this did not result in conviction, you may still be eligible for an award under the Criminal Injuries Scheme. While this might not be the same as seeing your abuser being punished for their actions, it does amount to some acknowledgement from the State of what you’ve been through.

The CICA will make enquiries of the police and ask them what steps you have taken to report the crime and if you have co-operated.

For more information see Criminal Injury Abuse Claims.

Time Limit for Applying to CICA

If you were an adult when the incident of abuse occurred, the application should be made as soon as possible and within 2 years of the incident.

If you were under 18 when the incident of child abuse occurred, and it was reported to the police before your 18th birthday, you have until your 20th Birthday (2 years from becoming an adult) to make your claim.

If it was reported to the police after your 18th Birthday then the application should be made within 2 years of the first report to the police. You will only qualify if the evidence means your claim can be determined without further extensive enquiries. However, if an application is made close to the time of the incident, it will be easier to provide evidence of the crime.

The time limit for making an abuse claim can only be extended if there are exceptional circumstances that meant an application couldn’t have been made earlier, and if the supporting evidence means it can be determined without a CICA claims officer carrying out extensive enquiries. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will sometimes want to see medical evidence to support any argument.

What is the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Scheme?

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme was created to ensure blameless victims of violent crime in Great Britain are compensated for their suffering. The scheme, which is funded by the State, was set up in 1964 and has been a tariff based scheme administered by the CICA since 1996.

CICA acknowledges that a financial award can never fully compensate a person for what they’ve suffered or lost after being the victim of a violent crime. The compensation is “society’s way of recognising that you have been a victim”.

The compensation award is based on a tariff system of fixed amounts for different types of injury. Complications sometimes arise when injuries fall under different categories, and arguments have to be put forward as to the severity of injuries under each category.

Awards can be made for physical abuse under the scheme in addition to an award for psychological injury. Where a person has sustained a mental injury as a result of a sexual assault, they will be entitled to an injury payment for whichever of the sexual assault or the mental injury would give rise to the highest payment under the tariff. The rules of the CIC scheme and the value of the compensation payments are set by Parliament.