Hiring Criminal Injury Lawyers Explained
This guide will explore the benefits of hiring criminal injury lawyers to help you seek compensation. It contains information about some of the requirements you must meet in order to begin a claim, as well as the criminal injuries compensation you could be awarded.
Hiring criminal injury lawyers explained
There are three avenues of claiming for a criminal injury. You may be able to claim directly against the individual responsible for your injuries, if you know their identity and they have adequate funds. Alternatively, you may claim against a vicariously liable third party, such as an employer, who breached the duty of care they owed you. Otherwise, if neither of these are viable options, you may be able to direct your claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). We will explore these in more detail throughout our guide.
Keep reading to learn more about the services lawyers could provide to those seeking compensation. Alternatively, our team of advisers is available 24/7 to answer any questions you may have about your potential claim. Reach us by:
- Completing our contact form with your queries
- Calling us at 020 8050 2736 to speak to an advisor
- Speaking to us via the chat box on screen now.
Choose A Section
- A Guide To Hiring Criminal Injury Lawyers
- How Could You Find Suitable Criminal Injury Lawyers?
- Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Lawyers To Claim Compensation For Criminal Injuries
- What Is The Eligibility Criteria For CICA Claims?
- What Could You Receive From A Compensation Claim For Criminal Injuries?
- Learn More About How You Could Use Criminal Injury Lawyers
A Guide To Hiring Criminal Injury Lawyers
There are different types of violent criminal acts, such as:
- Common assault
- Assault and battery
- Actual bodily harm (ABH)
- Grievous bodily harm (GBH)
There are also different types of injuries that could be sustained as a result of a violent criminal act, such as:
- Broken jaw
- Broken nose
- Bruising
- Cuts
You may find it beneficial to hire a lawyer to represent your claim. They can help you put together a full claim and guide you through the different stages of the claims process. To learn more about hiring criminal injury lawyers, get in touch with our team on the number above.
How Could You Find Suitable Criminal Injury Lawyers?
There are several ways you may be able to find criminal injury lawyers suitable to help with your circumstances. For example, you could:
- Ask around and receive word-of-mouth recommendations
- Check online reviews
- Search online for lawyers that specialise in the type of claim you are trying to make
It’s important to note that you may no longer have to rely on finding a lawyer that is local to you. Instead, you can focus on finding a lawyer that has experience in handling claims similar to your own.
You can also look for lawyers who offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. The lawyers from our panel all have experience handling criminal injury claims and can offer their services on this basis. Read on to learn more about how they could help.
Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Lawyers To Claim Compensation For Criminal Injuries
The criminal injury lawyers on our panel may be able to offer their services under a type of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). As per the terms of a CFA:
- You generally do not have to pay for your solicitor’s services if your claim fails.
- You also usually don’t have to pay for their services upfront or while the claim proceeds.
- If your claim succeeds, your solicitor will take payment from your compensation. This is known as a success fee. This success fee is subject to a legal cap.
To find out whether you’re eligible to work with a lawyer from our panel, get in touch on the number above.
What Is The Eligibility Criteria For CICA Claims?
There are several requirements for making a claim via the CICA. For example:
- The incident must have occurred in England, Scotland, or Wales. It may also have occurred in a relevant location.
- You must have been injured as a result of a crime of violence. As per the CICA definition, this can include an attack, act or omission of a violent nature that results in harm.
- The incident must have been reported to the police.
The eligibility requirements for claiming against a vicariously liable third party or directly against the perpetrator will differ. Contact us to learn more.
What Evidence Do You Need To Potentially Receive Criminal Injury Compensation?
You may also be asked to provide certain pieces of evidence to support your claim. This can include:
- Evidence that you meet the CICA’s residency requirements
- Financial evidence regarding your financial losses
- Medical evidence regarding your injuries
- A police reference number to show the incident has been reported to the police.
Similarly with the eligibility criteria, the evidence you may need to provide when claiming via another avenue can differ.
Contact our advisers to learn more about how criminal injury lawyers can help you gather sufficient evidence to support your claim.
What Could You Receive From A Compensation Claim For Criminal Injuries?
Criminal injuries compensation awarded following a successful claim made via the CICA is valued in line with the fixed tariff outlined in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.
We have included figures from this tariff in the section below. Alternatively, you could use a criminal injury claim calculator to get an estimate of how much compensation you may receive.
Please note, you cannot claim for more than three injuries. Also, if you make a claim for more than two injuries, they will be subject to the multiple injury formula. As such, for the most serious injury you can receive the full tariff value; for the second most or equally serious injury you can receive 30% of the tariff value; for the third most or equally serious injury you can receive 15% of the tariff value.
Whilst you can only be awarded compensation for a maximum of three injuries, you could receive an additional tariff payment in some cases. For example, if you have become pregnant, lost a foetus or contracted a sexually transmitted disease as a result of the criminal injury, you could receive an additional payment.
| Injury | Tariff Amount | Further Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Brain Damage | £175,000 | A very serious injury causing physical limitation of a severe nature as well as other issues such as a significant impact on senses. |
| Major Paralysis Not Resulting From Brain Damage | £110,000 | Severe hemiplegia (sensory or motor impairment) affecting one half of the body. |
| Finger and Thumb | £16,500 | Partial loss of thumb and index finger on both hands. |
| Ear | £16,500 | Permanent and total deafness in one ear. |
| Elbow | £11,000 | Both elbows are either fractured or dislocated. This causes an ongoing and significant disability. |
| Hand | £6,200 | Both hands are fractured causing an ongoing and significant disability. |
| Face | £6,200 | A fractured jaw that requires an operation and causes an ongoing disability that is significant in nature. |
| Shoulder | £3,500 | One shoulder is dislocated which causes a significant disability that is ongoing. |
| Forearm | £3,500 | Fractured radius in one arm, which leads to significant and ongoing disability. |
| Back | £2,400 | A fracture of more than one vertebra from which a substantial recovery is made. |
Additionally, you may be able to receive a payment for special expenses. These are financial losses accrued due to your injuries. You could also receive a loss of earnings payment.
There are certain eligibility requirements that must be met in order to receive these payments. You can call our team for more information. They can also discuss the compensation you could be awarded if you were to claim via a different avenue.
See If You Could Receive Criminal Injuries Compensation By Contacting Us Today
We hope this guide on how hiring criminal injury lawyers could help you claim has provided the information you need. However, we understand you may still have questions. If so, you can get in touch with our advisors. They can answer any questions you may have regarding your potential claim.
You can contact them by:
- Completing our contact form
- Calling 020 8050 2736 to speak to an advisor
- Speaking to us via the live chat feature below.
Learn More About How You Could Use Criminal Injury Lawyers
For more of our guides:
- How Long Do I Have To Claim Criminal Injury Compensation?
- Claim Compensation For A Stabbing
- Acid Attack Compensation Claims Explained
For more external resources:
- Crown Prosecution Service – Offences Against The Person Incorporating The Charging Standard
- Victim Support – Charity that provides assistance to the victims of violent crime and traumatic incidents
- NHS – When to call 999
Thank you for reading this guide on how criminal injury lawyers could benefit your claim. If you have any other information, please get in touch on the number above.
Writer Morgan Fox
Editor Meg Maloney
