Compensation for Assault

If you’re not sure who was responsible for your assault and you’re submitting an application for compensation from the CICA, your compensation will be limited by the CICA scheme.

If you’re claiming against the person(s) or business that is responsible for your assault — known as a civil lawsuit — the compensation you receive depends on the severity of the injuries you’ve suffered and the impact on your life. Severe, life-changing injuries will involve more compensation to cover medical bills, rehabilitation, care and support, adaptations to the home and loss of earnings.

Our criminal injury team are experts at securing the maximum compensation, whether you’re applying for compensation via the CICA or pursuing a civil claim. They will listen to the details of your assault and advise you on the best claim to pursue.

We know the thought of talking to a personal injury solicitor about making a criminal injury compensation claim can be daunting. But it could be the first step you take on the road to recovery and to a more financially stable future.

If you or a loved one has suffered a criminal injury, you may be entitled to make a compensation claim. You can still make a claim even if your assailant was not caught.

Here is what you need to know:

1. The first step is to get in touch with us. Call our specialist personal injury team on Freephone 0345 357 9645 or contact us online for a free, no-obligation chat.
2. We will ask you for the details about your assault and the extent of your injuries. Based on this information, we will assess your case and advise if your criminal injury claim has a chance of success. We can often help even if you’ve been turned down by other law firms.
3. Once we’ve taken on your case on a No Win No Fee basis, we will investigate the incident and work out who was to blame. Using our team of experts we will liaise with the police and emergency services (if applicable) and interview witnesses and review any CCTV or photographs to understand exactly what happened and why.
4. We might arrange for an independent medical professional to assess your criminal injury and advise what treatment, rehabilitation or care and support you need. This will help us to accurately calculate the level of compensation required.
5. To support you during your claim, we can help secure interim payments so that you can access vital rehabilitation treatment, medical care and support. We work with leading rehabilitation specialists, case managers, physiotherapists and care providers to aid your recovery and make your daily life easier.
6. After we’ve got all the evidence collected, we will either contact the contact the insurers of the person (or people) to blame for your assault. This is known as a Civil Claim. Alternatively, if you don’t know who was to blame for your assault, or if they were uninsured or incapable of personally compensating you for your injuries, we will submit an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme.

If you are making a civil claim and the person(s) to blame accept liability, we should be able settle your case out of court. However, if no agreement is reached, we may have to go to court and a judge will decide the outcome. Even if your case goes to court, many serious criminal injury claims settle before the trial begins. If court proceedings start, our expert personal injury team will be with you every step of the way and will work hard to get you maximum compensation for your claim.

If you are submitting an application to the CICA, our expert team of solicitors will manage every aspect of your application on your behalf and courts will never be involved.

We will keep you updated throughout the compensation process and explain everything that’s happening. We have many years of experience helping people in complex, high value criminal injury compensation claims and have secured tens of millions of pounds of damages for our clients.

Yes. The general rule is that you have two years from the date of the assault or the date when you realised your assault may have been caused by someone else negligence.

If you are claiming on behalf of a child, you can claim at any time until the child turns 18. When the child turns 18, they can bring a claim in their own right but the three year time limit will then apply and they will have until they are 21 to do so.

There are exceptions to this rule. For example, there is no time limit for people who don’t have the mental capacity to make legal decisions and different time limits apply for some injuries or illnesses sustained abroad.

Time can be a critical factor in compensation claims, so it’s important to get in touch with our specialist personal injury team as soon as possible for expert advice. 

There are no upfront or hidden costs when you make a compensation claim with Novum Law. Our advice is free, and your specialist criminal injury solicitor will help you on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, which means you won’t have to pay a penny if your claim is unsuccessful. If you’re claiming against the person(s) or business responsible for your assault — known as a civil claim — and your claim is successful, you’ll pay some legal costs from your compensation. The basis for this is agreed upon between you and your solicitor before you start your claim and you will be kept regularly updated.  Find out more about ‘no win, no fee’ claims.

Most cases are settled without going to court. It is often necessary to issue court proceedings…read more

If you are making a compensation claim and you’re unhappy with the service or advice you are…read more