If you have been a recent victim of a crime, then there is a very good chance that you'll be entitled to make a criminal injury compensation claim under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. CICA � Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Great Britain has in place the oldest compensation scheme for people who suffer criminal injuries as victims of crimes, with the first version having been introduced in 1964. Based along the lines of personal injury compensation claims, the CICA compensates victims of violent crime who have suffered any: � injury, whether that be physical or mental, as a result of being the victim of a violent crime � possible loss of earnings that the victim may endure as a result of such criminal injury � bereavement suffered as a result of a loved one having died as the victim of a violent crime. Since 1996 the CICA has adopted a fixed tariff criminal injury compensation scheme as set out by parliament in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 for those who are entitled to make a criminal injury claim. Making A Compensation Claim If you plan to make a claim to the CICA for criminal injury compensation, then you'll need to show that you have suffered either physical or mental harm as a result of having been the victim of the violent crime in question. Note that you need to show that a crime took place, you do not need to show that a conviction resulted from the crime you are claiming took place. If you have grounds to believe that you have a criminal injury claim, you can obtain a compensation form from a personal injury solicitor, which you then need to compete and return. The CICA then acknowledges receipt of your form and should process the claim. Keep in mind that this can be a lengthy process and can take anywhere up to 18 months after you have submitted the criminal injury compensation claim. Also, as the scheme is for victims of violent crimes, the minimum compensation payable under the scheme is �1,000 and the maximum amount of compensation is �250,000. Moreover, keep in mind that if you have made a claim for compensation under the scheme and are not satisfied with the initial compensation awarded for the criminal injury you suffered, you are entitled to submit a request to have a review of your criminal injury claim within 90 days of your original award being made. If you still don�t like the award after this review process has been completed, then you can appeal your criminal injury compensation claim to the Panel of the CICA within 30 days of the outcome of the appeal process. If the Panel of the CICA award still does not satisfy you, you then have the right to appeal your claim to the High Court. Are There Any Alternatives? If you have been the unfortunate victim of a crime, you should speak to a criminal injury solicitor as soon as you can following the event. In part this is because the criminal injury compensation scheme is only for those who are the victims of a violent crime. On the other part, you need to make sure you do this so that you can get the advice from your criminal injury solicitor as to any alterative compensation you may want to seek. Any alternative compensation claim you do instigate will be based on a civil action for personal injury. As a personal injury claim can be expensive, if you believe you may have a case for personal injury compensation but do not have the funds to pay a costly solicitor, you should talk with a no win no fee solicitor to see if there is any chance they will represent you in your claim. And Finally� Finally, as well as being the oldest criminal injury compensation authority in the world, with over 80,000 cases a year paying �200 million in compensation, the CICA is also one of the highest rewarding criminal injury claim boards in the world.
