Farleys were approached by Client H in July of 2022.
Client H had suffered terrible abuse as a child. He had been raped repeatedly between the ages of approximately 14 and 16 and had been left with long-term psychiatric injury.
Client H had recently reported the matter to the police and cooperated with a successful prosecution of his abuser.
Client H had pursued his own CICA claim and had received an initial award of £16,500 for the sexual abuse that he had suffered. He had asked that this be reviewed and the CICA had repeated their previous offer of £16,500.
At this point Client H felt that he needed professional advice to challenge the CICA and instructed Jonathan Bridge of Farleys Solicitors.
Client H had a complex claim. He had worked for the majority of his adult life but the jobs he had were short term jobs and, since 2015, he had struggled to hold down permanent employment. He also contended a permanent psychiatric injury, which the CICA had failed to take account of in their offer.
Farleys accordingly instructed a Consultant Psychiatrist who produced a report, outlining multiple psychiatric injuries as a result of the abuse. Which were likely to be permanent and of moderate severity.
The expert also accepted that Client H’s inability to work to date, had been as a result of psychiatric injuries stemming from childhood abuse.
His DWP and HMRC records were obtained and considered and a schedule prepared, outlining the periods of his employment history to date, where he had been unable to work because of psychiatric issues. It was important to establish the times he had received benefits and in particular PIP to support this aspect of the claim.
Farleys also put forward a claim for future loss of earnings. Again, this was complex. It was argued that a period of time would have to be allowed, in order that Client H could undergo intensive treatment. Even after treatment, it was contended that for some of his future working life he would still be unable to work.
Partial future loss of earnings are not often recovered from the CICA. In this case however, on appeal the Tribunal were prepared to accept that for 25% of the rest of Client H’s working life, he would fall within the scheme and had an entitlement to loss of earnings.
On appeal therefore, Client H was successful on each and every point raised, securing increased awards in relation to the tariff, past loss of earnings and future loss of earnings. An offer of £16,500 was increased to a settlement figure of nearly £98,000 as a result of the appeal.
If you would like to discuss the possibility of making a CICA abuse claim or have received a settlement offer from the CICA which you would like assistance in appealing, our abuse claim specialists are on hand to advise you in confidence. Call our dedicated abuse line on 0330 134 6430, contact us by email, or use the online chat below if you prefer.