The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has recently found that victims of crime who appeal the initial award made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICA) end up being offered six times the amount.

Victims of crime often pursue their own CICA claim, however, figures show that ‘victims are not receiving the compensation to which they are entitled if they don’t have legal assistance’ states the APIL vice president, Kim Harrison.

The APIL found that in the 379 cases which reached appeal in 2022/23, an average of £7,848 was initially offered for each claim. When appealed, the CICA’s offer in these cases increased to £47,339 – this is more than six times higher. Kim Harrison added:

These figures clearly suggest that victims are not receiving the compensation to which they are entitled if they don’t have legal assistance.

Although the CICA claim process is easily accessible, there are many people who are unable to navigate their way through the appeals process whilst dealing with the trauma of being abused and injured.  This results in many missing out on compensation that they need in an attempt to put right the wrongs they suffered.

Jonathan Bridge has recently successfully appealed four high value claims. With an initial combined offer of £104,662, the four applicants were awarded a total of £748,075.72, endorsing the APILs findings.

Further supporting the APIL’s findings, Client X recently instructed Farleys Solicitors after receiving an offer of £14,100 from the CICA. This was appealed by Jonathan Bridge who heads the Abuse Claim Department. Farleys applied for Client X’s HMRC and DWP records and submitted an appropriate Schedule of Loss to the CICA. Jonathan Bridge was successful in appealing Client X’s initial offer of £14,100 and in this case the applicant received over £228,000.

Furthermore, Client B was initially awarded £22,000. Following various reviews of extensive records, instructing a medical expert and submitting a Schedule of Loss, the abuse team were successful in appealing Client B’s offer, receiving just over £222,340.

Client Y was also initially awarded £22,000, receiving a final offer of £118,320 after a successful complex appeal.

Client Z was able to prove substantial Loss of Earnings, increasing the CICA’s initial offer of £46,562 to just one just over £179,000 through submitting a psychiatric report along with a schedule of loss to the tribunal hearing the appeal.

The findings follow a call by the organisation that the compensation scheme be extended so that victims of child sexual abuse be eligible for damages from the CICA, further information with regard to this can be found here.

Farleys have a dedicated team that has expertise in CICA claims and assisting victims in seeking redress. If you would like to discuss a potential CICA claim with a member of the team then please call us on 0330 134 6430, contact us by email, or use our online chat service.