Criminal Injuries Compensation Board Claims Solicitor

Our specialist solicitors are all members of the Law Society panel of personal injury experts and handle claims to the Criminal Injury Compensation Board using the no win no fee scheme. Dealing with us is completely risk free. You will not be charged any legal fees if the application for an award fails for any reason whatsoever and you do not have to pay any expenses incurred as the application proceeds. If the application to the Criminal Injury Compensation Board fails, we will in appropriate cases we take the matter to appeal on similar terms. For free qualified legal advice, without any further obligation, just call us on 1234 567 8910 or send the contact form.

The Criminal Injury Compensation Board has offices in London (Home Office) and Glasgow (Scottish Executive Office) wherein over 500 people work to process claims applications from within England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has a separate system of its own. Each year, more than £200,000,000 is awarded to more than 70,000 claimants.

The goal of the Criminal Injury Compensation Board is to acknowledge injuries – both physical and psychological – caused as a result of violent crime and to provide financial assistance to compensate for suffering and loss caused to the victim. In fatal injury cases compensation may also be awarded to cover bereavement expenses and the loss of salary.

Prior to 1996 claims to the Criminal Injury Compensation Board were evaluated in the same manner as ordinary personal injury claims and were individually assessed accordingly however a banded tariff scheme was subsequently introduced wherein specific injuries now have specific rates within one of 25 bands. If there are multpile injuries only the worst three will qualify for an award.

Following submission of an application the Criminal Injury Compensation Board acknowledges receipt and assigns a personal reference number to the claim. An investigation into the circumstances of the assault and injury is then commenced with cooperation of the police and the healthcare authorities. Most claims are resolved within 12 months however more complicated cases may take longer. The average time taken to fully deal with claims is 8 month.

If the initial decision is unsatisfactory the claimant can request that a more senior case officer review the case. The applicant has 90 days in which to file the request for the review. If the results of the review are still unsatisfactory, the claimant can appeal to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel (CICAP) which is totally independent. Forms for both the review and the appeal are included in the written decisions sent out to applicants. If the applicant has grievances relating to poor administration then complaint can be made to The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration or the Ombudsman or in Scotland to the applicants Member of Parliament or to The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Victim Support is a charity that helps victims and witnesses of crimes by offering their services free to everyone, whether the crime has been reported or not and regardless of when it happened. Victim Support is an independent organisation that is not associated with the Police, the Criminal Injury Compensation Board or the Criminal Court system. Local branches are located throughout the UK where trained volunteers offer :-

• confidential communication
• police and court procedure information
• links to other sources of help
• help in dealing with other organisations
• information about criminal injury claims
• help with applications for insurance payments

If you have been a victim of a crime you can call for assistance :-

Victim Support
National Office
Cranmer House
39 Brixton Road
London SW9 6DZ
Telephone: 020 7735 9166
Fax: 020 7582 5712

Have you suffered a physical or mental trauma as a result of a violent crime? Has the trauma suffered caused you to see a doctor at least twice and did not experience full recovery within 6 weeks? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you can apply for compensation. The criminal injury compensation scheme allows you to make a claim whether the offender has been caught and prosecuted or not. Call us now on the helpline or complete the contact form. If you would prefer to talk to a same sex solicitor just tell us at the beginning of any conversation and we'll arrange it there and then.