Criminal injuries compensation claims

Start your criminal injury compensation claim today with our no-win no-fee CICA claim solicitors if you were the victim of an assault or a violent crime.

The CICA stands for Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority which is a government body. This organisation allows victims of violent crime, sexual assault, and abuse to claim compensation for their injuries.

What is a CICA compensation claim?

The CICA compensation claim means money awarded to someone who has been injured in England, Wales or Scotland because of a violent crime or an assault.

You may be able to make a criminal injury compensation claim if you are a victim of a crime of violence committed in the last 2 years and reported to the police.

Eligibility criteria for a criminal injury compensation claim

You may be able to make a criminal injury compensation claim if you meet the following eligibility criteria:

• The crime must have happened in England, Wales or Scotland
• The crime must be reported to the police
• The crime must have happened within the past 2 years

Who can claim criminal injury compensation?

You will only be eligible for a criminal injury compensation claim if you meet one of the residency or nationality requirements. You must have been one of the following when the crime happened:

• a British citizen or EU or EEA national (or their close relative)
• a family member of an EU or EEA national who has the right to be in the UK
• a member of the armed forces (or you’re a close relative living in their household)
• a potential victim of human trafficking on or before the date of your application - this must be confirmed by the UK Human Trafficking Centre and UK Visas and Immigration
• an asylum seeker
• a national of a country that has signed up to the Council of Europe Convention on the Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes

You’re also eligible if you were ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK at the time of the crime. This depends on your connection to the UK, for example if you were living, working or studying there (or you were the family member of someone who was).

Types of criminal injuries

Here is a list of some common types of criminal injuries you are entitled to be compensated for by the CICA scheme.

• mental or physical injury following a crime of violence;
• sexual or physical abuse;
• loss of earnings - where you have no or limited capacity to work as the direct result of a criminal injury;
• special expenses payments - these cover certain costs you may have incurred as a direct result of an incident. You can only ask us to consider special expenses if your injuries mean you have been unable to work or have been incapacitated to a similar extent for more than 28 weeks;
• a fatality caused by a crime of violence including bereavement payments, payments for loss of parental services and financial dependency; and funeral payments.