Farleys have successfully concluded a Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) claim after five years for a survivor of historic abuse.

Background

Client H first approached Jonathan Bridge at Farleys in 2019 to discuss bringing a claim for the repeated sexual abuse that she suffered as child. The background to the claim is that Child H was experiencing sexual abuse by her father as a child. Client H was then removed from her parents care by the Local Authority and placed in foster care. Despite this, the Local Authority returned her to the care of her father, where the abuse continued. Client H also experienced sexual abuse by her uncle during this time.

Initial Claims

A CICA claim was submitted in November 2019.

A claim against the Local Authority was also initiated at this stage, and a Letter of Claim was sent in October 2020. The Claim against the Local Authority settled in 2021, with Client receiving £20,000 in damages. Due to the current position in the law regarding duty of care, the damages received from the Local Authority only related to the abuse our client experienced whilst in foster care. It could not account for the abuse that she suffered before her time in care and failed to account for the psychological injuries that our client experienced because of the abuse.

Next Steps

The first obstacle to overcome with Client H’s CICA claim was that she was out of time. In accordance with the CICA scheme, the application should have been submitted by Client H’s 20th Birthday. However, as is the case with many of our clients and survivors of abuse, Client H was suffering from psychiatric injuries which prevented her from bringing the claim sooner.

To support this, we obtained Client H’s medical records which were reviewed by members of the review team. The records confirmed that Client H was suffering from Complex PTSD and these were provided to the CICA in support of the claim.

Initially, the CICA accepted that Client H had good reasons for not bringing he claim sooner and made an offer to Client H in October 2021 of £8,200. However, as Client H had received a successful award in her civil claim, the CICA reduced the award to nil, in line with the rules of ‘double recovery’.

Review

Farleys reviewed this decision on multiple grounds:

  1. The first was that it failed to account for the significant psychiatric injuries that Client H was suffering from, including PTSD and an adjustment disorder.

  2. The offer failed to account for the impact of the abuse on Client H’s ability to work. Client H attempted to work; however this was sporadic, and by 2016 Client H was no longer able to work. Client H was receiving state benefits due to this.

  3. The CICA reduced the award to take into account the damages received from the Local Authority. This was an error of the CICA, as the CICA claim related solely to the abuse that Client H experienced before her time in care. Farleys therefore argued that there was no overlap between the claims.

  4. Client H suffered additional injuries due to the abuse, which were not accounted for.

  5. The offer from the CICA failed to make an award for the sexual abuse that Client H experienced by her uncle.

To support the review application, Farleys instructed a psychiatric expert to prepare a report for the claim to advise on the injuries that she was suffering from, and whether she had capacity to work in the future.

Due to the complexities of the claim, the psychiatric report was updated on two occasions in 2022. The finalised report was disclosed to the CICA in July 2022. The report confirmed that Client H was suffering from PTSD which required specific treatment, and that she would be unlikely to work again in the future on a full-time basis.

It took a great deal of time to receive an update from the CICA following this, and a complaint to the CICA was submitted in September 2023 due to the delays of the CICA in dealing with the claim.

During this time, Farleys regularly requested updates from the CICA, and obtained copies of Client H’s DWP and HMRC records so that a Schedule of Loss could be prepared to support a loss of earnings claim.

Client H’s claim was further complicated by the CICA’s request that she undergo a further medical assessment. Client H was assessed by a further expert in March 2024, and a report was disclosed in August 2024.

The second report was again favourable to Client H’s claim and confirmed that she was suffering from psychiatric injuries which would impact her ability to work in the future.

This report was disclosed to the CICA in September 2024, along with the Schedule of Loss prepared, and the claim was finally referred to a Senior Decision Maker at the CICA.

Farleys kept in regular contact the Senior Decision Maker, providing further information on the Civil Claim and Client H’s relationship with the assailant. In December 2024, Client H was finally awarded an offer of £273,000, which she has accepted.

Client H commented:

I had fantastic service at Farleys. Throughout my time with them, my claim was handled with the utmost respect and care by Jonathan Bridge and the team.

Contact a Specialist in CICA Abuse Claims

Here at Farleys, we have extensive experience of assisting survivors of abuse in claims to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. We understand the complexities of the system whilst handling the claims with the sensitivity required. To discuss your case in confidence with one of our specialists, please call our dedicated abuse line on 0330 134 6430 or you can contact us by email or through the online chat below if you’d prefer.