If you were the victim of a violent incident and suffered stab injuries, you may be able to claim compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority – CICA. However, the authority only considers a case if a stab wound causes an injury to you. In short, the stabbing itself and the wound you sustain is all too often not “claimable” whereas the injury the stabbing caused you would be.
To find out more about compensation for stab injuries through the CICA scheme and how to go about seeking legal advice and filing a claim, please read on.
What Sort of Stab Injuries Do the CICA Deem Claimable?
Any sort of stab wound would typically leave you with some type of scar. If you are thinking about seeking compensation by filing a claim through the CICA scheme, you would need to provide photos of the scars you sustained which would determine whether your claim would be eligible. With this said, a solicitor would be able to judge whether the stab wound you suffered left you with scars that are significant enough to be visible from anything to 1.5 to 4 feet away. An example would be if you were left with a facial scar that is just under 1 inch in length, your stab injury compensation claim could be upheld.
Would The CICA Award Compensation if I Suffered a Stab Wound to the Body?
If you suffered a stab wound to the body, it may prove more challenging to be awarded compensation through the CICA. The reason being that the authority does not pay compensation to people who suffered “puncture” wounds. However, should a stab wound to your body be 1.5 ins or longer in length, the CICA may consider a claim to be valid.
The best thing to do should you want to determine whether a stab wound to the body could entitle you to seek compensation through the Criminal Injuries Scheme, is to contact a solicitor who would request that you provide photos of the wound you sustained and the scarring that it left you with for them to establish whether it would worth your while filing a stab wound claim for compensation through the CICA.
Are There Any Other Injuries Associated with Stab Wounds That the CICA Would Consider?
All too often a stabbing can result in you suffering damage to tendons found in your arms and legs. If this is so, your claim for compensation through the CICA would be deemed valid if the tendon damage causes you ongoing problems and difficulties. Other injuries associated with stab wounds that the CICA would consider includes the following:
- Punctured lung
- Punctured organs – examples being the pancreas of spleen
The CICA scheme would also pay compensation for stab wounds that leave you with multiple organ damage that requires surgical intervention to repair.
What Other Criteria Must I Meet if I File a Stab Wound Claim For Compensation to CICA?
For a stab wound claim for compensation through the CICA scheme to be valid, you would need to prove that you were the “blameless victim” of a crime against you. If you ran after a person and they turned round and stabbed you with a knife, the CICA would not deem you to be an “innocent” victim because you chased after your assailant.
Another reason why the CICA would not pay stab wound compensation to victims include the following:
- If you have previous “unspent criminal convictions”
If you are unsure whether you have any unspent criminal convictions, you should contact a solicitor who would check to ensure there are none and that any previous convictions are “spent” so that you can make an application to the CICA. If it is found that there are “unspent” convictions against you, the solicitor would typically recommend that you wait until they are spent before seeking stab wound compensation through the CICA.
In short, you may have to wait for a period of time before filing your claim, bearing in mind that if you make an application to CICA and you have “unspent” convictions, you would not be able to reapply for compensation through the scheme if your application is turned down.
How Long Would I Have to Wait For Stab Wound Compensation Through the CICA?
The process of filing a stab wound for compensation through the CICA scheme does not involve waiting for the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision on whether they would prosecute an assailant or not. This can be the cause of a delay and could mean that you run out of time because should the CPS decide that a prosecution would be brought against an assailant, it would mean waiting for a Police report to be released which would be when the trial is over. In short, this could mean that a claim through the CICA scheme could be delayed by several months.
As such, it is advisable for you to seek legal advice from a solicitor as soon as you can. The reason being that you would not be obliged to wait for the outcome of a trial in order to file a stab wound claim for compensation through the CICA. The reason being that should you wait, you might find the delay means that you cannot meet the strict 2 year deadline associated with criminal injury claims through the Scheme.
What is the Time Limit to Making a Stab Wound Claim Through the CICA?
The time limit you would have to respect if you are thinking about making a stab wound injury claim for compensation through the CICA scheme, is 2 years from the date of the incident. You can check whether your claim falls within the statutory time limit associated with CICA claims by contacting the authority directly.
The only time that the CICA would think about extending the deadline to filing a compensation claim through their scheme could be because of the following:
- If the incident occurred when you were under 18 years old. The 2 year deadline would begin from your 18th birthday. You do have the right to file a criminal injury claim before this date should you want to
- If the stabbing left you suffering from serious psychological problems which as a result meant you could not make a criminal injury claim within the statutory deadline to do so. You would need to provide a medical report supporting your claim which has to be provided by a Consultant Psychiatrist or Psychologist for the CICA to consider your case for compensation through their scheme
Another reason why the CICA may consider extending the deadline could be for exceptional circumstances which could include the following:
- More enquiries are needed which would be carried out by the claim’s officer who deals with your case
It is worth noting that the sooner you file a criminal injury claim, once the Police report is released, your case would then move on to the next stage of the process, namely getting medical evidence to support your stab wound injury claim.
Do I Need a Police Report to Claim Compensation for Stab Injuries Through the CICA?
For a compensation claim to be accepted by the CICA, you must have a Police report detailing the incident in which you were stabbed and injured. As such, you must report the incident to the authorities as soon as you can so that you obtain a Police report reference number. Without a Police report, your claim for compensation through the scheme would not be accepted.
Ideally, you should have contacted the Police as soon as it was feasibly possible which should be immediately after you sustained a stab injury. If you cannot report the incident to the Police, you would need to provide a good reason for the delay for the CICA to uphold a claim for compensation. A CICA claim’s officer would then assess whether the reason for the delay is acceptable and that you could not have reported the crime to the Police any earlier.
What Delays in Reporting a Stabbing to Police Would Be Acceptable to CICA?
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority may consider any of the following reasons for not having reported a stabbing to the Police as valid:
- You were too young when the incident occurred
- You lacked the mental capacity to report the incident
- The injuries you sustained were so severe, you could not report the incident
With this said, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority always recommends that any crime of violence which includes stabbing, should be reported to the authorities, namely the Police.
What is the CICA Procedure When Deciding a Criminal Injury Claim?
Decisions that the CICA come to in criminal injury claims are based on the “balance of probabilities” unlike how rulings are come to through the Criminal Court where “beyond reasonable doubt” has to be proved. However, because there are rules that must be respected for a claims to be accepted through the CICA scheme, it is best to contact a lawyer who would walk you through the process once they are happy that your stab injury claim would be accepted.
By having the expertise of a lawyer advise you from the outset means that you would avoid falling foul of any legal pitfalls that could see a stab injury claim being turned down before it even begins.
Would A Solicitor Help Me File a Stab Injury Claim Through the CICA?
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme was set up to ensure that blameless victims of crimes of violence have an opportunity to seek compensation for injuries they suffered whether physical or psychological. However, for your case to be accepted by the CICA, you would have to meet the very strict criteria as set out by the scheme. With this said, it is far better to seek legal advice before going ahead with your CICA claim. The reason being that there are extremely strict rules and time limits that have to be respected to avoid having your case rejected by the authority.
Any errors made at the outset could result in long delays with a CICA application for the injuries you sustained in a stabbing. Criminal injury lawyers have vast experience in handling criminal injury claims and know that deadlines have to be kept. Lawyers know that the evidence you can provide is key to your case being accepted and not rejected by the CICA.
What Advantage is There to Having Legal Representation if I File a Stab Injury Claim?
As previously mentioned, filing a criminal injury claim can be a complex legal process where sufficient evidence is needed to prove you were the blameless victim of a violent crime. The criteria that is set out in the Scheme must be met and as such, having a solicitor’s legal expertise working on your case from the outset offers many benefits and advantages some of which are listed below:
- A criminal injury lawyer would ensure that you have no “unspent convictions” before making your application to the CICA
- They would make sure that the stab injury you sustained entitles you to make an application for compensation through the Scheme
- The lawyer would ensure that you have adequate evidence proving that you were the blameless victim of a crime of violence
These are just some of the benefits of having legal representation when making an application for compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
Would a No Win No Fee Solicitor Represent Me if I Seek Compensation for Stab Injuries Through the CICA Scheme?
A No Win No Fee lawyer would need to satisfy themselves that you were the innocent victim of a crime of violence and that you did not contribute in any way to the stabbing incident in which your suffered injuries. The solicitor would determine whether you have a case that would be accepted by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority by offering you a free, initial complication and you would be under no obligation to continue with a claim should you decide not to proceed.
Once this has been established, the solicitor would typically offer No Win No Fee terms when filing a claim through the CICA scheme for stab injury compensation. You would not have to pay the solicitor a retainer or any ongoing fees as your claim progresses. The only time you would pay for the legal representation and advice you received from a criminal injury lawyer would be when you receive the stab injury compensation through the CICA scheme and the amount would be directly deducted from the amount the authority awards you.
Informative Links
If you were a blameless victim of a crime of violence and suffered stab wounds, the link below takes you to the Victim Support website where you will find essential support for those you have been subjected to this type of traumatic incident:
To find out more on how the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority works and the type of injuries innocent victims of violence can be compensated, please follow the link provided below:
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
To find out more on how to “appeal” a decision made by the CICA, please follow the link provided below which takes you to the Gov.UK website where you will find essential reading on the topic: