Being a crime victim is one of the most tragic scenarios you can deal with in your life. Unfortunately, this event can impact you throughout your entire life, and you will more likely need to have a lot of help and support to be able to recover after this traumatic event. Being a crime victim can make you experience plenty of injuries, which can vary from minor cuts to severe harm, like broken bones and organ rupture. On top of the physical damage, victims also need to deal with emotional and mental harm and seek support to cope better with trauma.

As you can see, if you ever experience criminal injuries, you will have a lot in your life to take care of. As a victim of criminal injuries, you are able to claim compensation and try to gain something financially that will help you recover faster. So, you are able to claim compensation that is offered through a government-funded scheme. Here, your claims will be managed by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

In this article, we will explore your rights after dealing with criminal injuries, so keep reading to learn more.

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What exactly is CICA?

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is a government organization that handles all criminal injury compensation schemes. So, when a victim of a criminal injury wants to claim compensation, CICA will handle it. CICA handles crime claims that happened in Wales, Scotland, and England. To decide how much compensation a person can receive, you need to follow some steps.

For once, a person must be eligible for the scheme. If a person proves to be eligible, then the CICA can move to the next phase, where they determine how much compensation a person can receive.

Even if so far things seem to be pretty simple, going through all these processes after experiencing traumatic moments can feel overwhelming. This is why it might be a better idea to consider the help of solicitors who will take the lead and offer you all the information you need to make a criminal injury claim. Nowadays, legal solicitors are helping people get compensation for criminal injuries, medical negligence, car accidents and so on. There are also other sites, where victims can get a free instant consultation to know exactly the true cost of making a claim. For example, with the help of a medical negligence claim calculator, people can see exactly if it is a good idea to take the legal actions needed.

Are you eligible for a criminal injury claim?

To see whether you can make a criminal injury claim, you must first see if you are eligible. In this regard, it is a good idea to take a look at the criteria published by CICA. Some of these examples include:

• You have been involved in a crime or abuse.
• Because of this accident, you have been injured.
• The injury has occurred in Scotland, Wales, or England.
• You are not at fault for causing the crime through provocation.
• You have gone to the police and reported the crime.

To prove you can fall into the categories mentioned above, you need evidence to back up that what you are saying is true. As CICA doesn’t conduct the investigation, they rely a lot on the assessments from the police records. The evidence you need to show to the CICA includes:

• Proof showing the right to reside in the UK at the moment when the crime occurred.
• The medical evidence of your injuries.
• The police crime reference number, which demonstrates you have reported the crime to the police.

The CICA might also ask the police for other evidence as well, that can impact your case. These details include:

• Whether you have reported the accident in a reasonable time after it occurred.
• You didn’t provoke the accident with your behavior.
• You have cooperated with the police agents.

Types of crime where you can claim make a CICA claim

• Physical abuse or assault. These are among the most common crimes in a criminal injury claim, and people can claim compensation if they have sustained injuries from these events.

• Stabbing. Stabbing can lead to tragic and severe injuries that people can take compensation for.
• Robbery. In a theft, a person can claim compensation for the loss of earnings and injuries that the robbery caused.

• Terrorist attacks. The victims of terrorist attacks can also claim compensation for the injuries after dealing with this event, as well as for any mental trauma caused by it.
• Domestic violence. Victims of ongoing domestic abuse can also claim compensation after dealing with psychological and physical injuries.
• Attempted murder. Victims can also claim compensation for the injuries sustained in an attempted murder.
• Human trafficking. Dealing with human trafficking can leave long-lasting impacts on a human, which a person can claim compensation for.
• Sexual assault. Sexual assault victims can claim compensation for psychological and physical harm.

Other important information to remember in a criminal injury claim

Before starting to follow the journey of filing a criminal injury claim, the involved person can try to make a claim against the person who initiated the attack. However, in this situation, you must know who that person was. If you have tried this method, and it didn’t function, then you can claim against CICA to receive something for what you have gone through. So, keep in mind that when making a CICA compensation, you can receive less than you would when claiming the person who has injured you directly.

This is why a CICA claim should be considered as a last resort. However, if you don’t know the perpetrator, then you can file a claim against the CICA and gather the evidence mentioned above.

The bottom line

It is never easy to be a victim of a criminal injury, as you need to deal with a lot of trauma and take your time to recover physically. Additionally, being a victim of any type of crime can have a long-lasting impact on you for your entire lifetime, which is something no one wants to experience. This is why it is important to know your legal rights and claim compensation to receive something for all the damages brought by this tragic event.