Victims of crime who appealed their initial offers made through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme ended up being offered six times more, according to data obtained by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).Â
In the data obtained by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers it highlighted that 379 cases which reached appeal in 2022/23, were initially offered an average of £7,848 for each claim. However, when these awarded were rejected and appealed the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority’s (CICA’s) injury compensation offer in these cases was then increased to £47,339 – i.e. more than six times per person.
APIL vice president Kim Harrison said that the data ‘clearly suggest victims are not receiving the compensation to which they are entitled if they don’t have legal assistance’.
She added: ‘The CICA tells victims of crime that they do not need to appoint a legal representative to pursue their claim. But these figures clearly suggest that victims are not receiving the compensation to which they are entitled if they don’t have legal assistance.’
Without legal representation, a victim of crime is less likely to be able to challenge the CICA’s decision, including whether the initial offer is fair, she said. ‘Many unrepresented people, who are dealing with the trauma of being injured due to crime will not have the skills, time, or confidence to challenge a decision and will miss out on compensation they need to help them to recover and put their lives back on track.’
The data follows a call by the organisation that the compensation scheme be extended so that victims of child sexual abuse be eligible for damages from the CICS.
APIL set out its views in response to a Ministry of Justice consultation looking at possible changes to the scope and times limits for CICA claims.
Shocking Outcome for Victims
One example of an even more outrageously reduced CICA compensation award was highlighted by Business Chamber in 2019. In that example, lawyers Digby Brown Solicitors appealed an award of just £11,000 to a victim of childhood abuse but her lawyers appealed the injury compensation award and the compensation settlement was increased to £223,000. A shocking twenty times the amount initially offered by the CICA.
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