Jonathan Bridge of Farleys Solicitors was instructed by Client C in May of 2019 in relation to a potential CICA claim.

Client C had suffered serious sexual abuse as a child. Client C met his abuser in Manchester city centre before being taken back to his flat where he was given alcohol and then raped. He was sexually abused by the same man on various further occasions over an 18-month period.

Client C had suffered psychiatric problems throughout adulthood and had found it difficult to talk about the abuse that he had suffered. He was eventually strong enough to report the matter to the police and a prosecution was ongoing when he instructed Farleys.

A CICA application was submitted on behalf of Client C claiming not only a tariff award but also an award for the significant loss of earnings that the Client C had suffered. He had been unable to work for the majority of his adult life because of his psychiatric issues.

The CICA took an excessively long time to deal with the claim which necessitated complaints on behalf of Client C. Eventually, in November of 2022, they put forward an offer to settle Client C’s case in the sum of £46,562. This comprised a tariff award together with a contribution towards past and future loss of earnings.

Farleys recommended that Client C ask the CICA to review this decision and obtained medical evidence in support of the case.

An argument was put to the CICA that there should be a much more significant payment for past loss of earnings and that Client C’s ability to work in the future had also been prejudiced. This was in line with the medical evidence submitted.

The CICA reviewed their previous decision in light of the representations that Farleys had put forward and increased their offer to £144,236.

Farleys again advised that this offer should be rejected and Client C took the matter to an Appeal. Again, there were delays on the part of the CICA necessitating complaints before the matter was finally resolved.

This was an interesting case as it involved a partial future loss of earnings claim. The CICA sometimes refuse to accept that an applicant has an inability to work under the terms of the scheme, if this is only for a percentage of the future working life of the applicant.

In this particular case, Farleys put in further written submission to the Tribunal and the CICA accepted these submissions allowing for the future partial loss of earnings claim and increasing the settlement sum to a final total of £199,182.27.

This case is testament to the recent comments of Kim Harrison of APIL saying that it is always important to consider appealing awards by the CICA and that generally the awards offered at the review stage are not adequate compensation. Sadly, many victims of abuse find the whole process difficult and in this particular case Client C did find the constant delays in the CICA process to be upsetting. He nevertheless preserved and was eventually rewarded with an appropriate settlement sum within the terms of the scheme.

If you would like to discuss making a CICA abuse claim in confidence with one of our specialists at Farleys, please call our dedicated abuse line on 0330 134 6430, get in touch by email, or use the online chat below if you prefer.