How To Claim With No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors

In this guide, we will discuss the benefits of using No Win No Fee criminal injury solicitors when pursuing compensation for a violent crime. You are not obligated to use a legal professional to bring forward a claim. However, it could prove to be beneficial. Throughout this guide, we will examine these benefits and help you to determine whether you meet the eligibility criteria to make a criminal injury claim. 

no win no fee criminal injury solicitors

Can I Hire No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors?

Different types of violent crime could lead to a claim, including common assault, sexual assault, sexual abuse and assault and battery. These crimes could lead to injuries of varying severity, for which you could be eligible to pursue compensation. Continue reading through this guide to learn more about using a solicitor to make a claim. 

You could also get in touch with a member of our team to learn whether you may be eligible to bring forward a criminal injury claim. Our advisors are available 24/7 and can offer a free assessment of your claim. Should they find you may have valid grounds for a claim, they could put in connection with one of our specialist criminal injury solicitors. 

To get in touch, you can:

Choose A Section

  1. A Guide To Claiming With No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors
  2. How Can Our No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors Help You?
  3. When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation From The CICA?
  4. What Do You Need To Receive Compensation For Criminal Injuries?
  5. Potential Payouts When Claiming Through The CICA
  6. Learn More About Using No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors To Claim

A Guide To Claiming With No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors

No Win No Fee criminal injury solicitors will be familiar with the three potential avenues through which a criminal injury claim can be made. These include the following: 

  • You could make a direct claim against the person who criminally injured you. To do this, you will need to know the identity of the perpetrator, and they must have the available funds to pay the settlement amount. 
  • You could bring a claim directly against a third party that owed you a duty of care and is, therefore, vicariously liable for your injuries.
  • In certain circumstances where the two options above are not feasible, you may be eligible to bring forward a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). They are responsible for overseeing the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which is intended to compensate violent crime victims. 

You may ask, ‘Do I need to use criminal injury solicitors near me?’. Technology now allows you to correspond with a solicitor via email or telephone, where you can deal with many aspects of the claims process. Therefore, you do not have to be restricted by geographical location when considering which solicitor is right for you. 

The benefits of using a solicitor include the following:

  • Help to build your case and present a complete claim
  • Help to collect evidence
  • Someone to deal with any claim-related correspondence
  • Someone to keep you updated on the progression of your claim

Call our team of advisors to learn more about hiring legal representation.

How Can Our No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors Help You?

When considering No Win No Fee criminal injury solicitors, it is important to understand what a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) means for both you and your claim. This is a type of No Win No Fee agreement that helps you to access the services of a solicitor. In using this type of arrangement, the following will generally apply:  

  • You will not pay for the services of your solicitor upfront, whilst the claim is ongoing, or in the event it is unsuccessful.  
  • If your claim is successful, a criminal injury solicitor under a CFA will take a small percentage of the compensation, which is capped under legislation. This percentage is often referred to as a success fee. 

It is important to note that a solicitor will inform you of any costs you will be expected to pay before you enter into an agreement. To learn more about using a solicitor under an agreement of this kind, speak to a member of our team today.   

When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation From The CICA?

Certain eligibility criteria must be met to make a claim via the CICA. These can differ from the eligibility requirements applicable to claims made directly against the perpetrator or a vicariously liable third party.  

To claim through the CICA, the following must apply to your claim: 

  • You are a direct victim of a violent crime, in line with the definition provided by the CICA.
  • The incident must have been reported to the police. The CICA expects this to have been done as soon as reasonably practicable unless there were exceptional circumstances that delayed the reporting of the violent crime. In these instances, you may still be eligible to make a claim. 
  • The incident must have occurred in either England, Scotland, Wales, or another place deemed relevant by the CICA. 
  • You must comply with the relevant time limits stated in the Scheme. 

The CICA could also consider other factors when deciding whether you are eligible to make a claim, such as any unspent criminal convictions you may have. To learn more about these eligibility requirements, please speak to an advisor from our team. 

What Do You Need To Receive Compensation For Criminal Injuries?

To prove that you meet the eligibility requirements stated above, the CICA may ask you to provide certain evidence. They could also ask you to provide evidence of the harm you have suffered as a result of the violent crime. 

Evidence they may ask for could include the following: 

  • Proof that you are in compliance with the CICA’s residency requirements.
  • A police reference number. 
  • Medical evidence showing your injuries. 
  • Evidence of any loss of earnings or special expenses that your injuries caused.

For any more information regarding the evidence you may be asked to provide to make a claim via the CICA, please speak to one of our advisors. 

Potential Payouts When Claiming Through The CICA

When a successful claim is made through the CICA, a payout for the injuries caused by the incident of violent crime can be valued in line with the tariff for criminal injury compensation claims.

Please use the table below as a guide to potential criminal injuries compensation amounts as it uses figures from the tariff of injuries in the Scheme 2012. No Win No Fee criminal injury solicitors can also refer to this document to aid them in estimating the value of your claim. 

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You could receive a payout covering up to three injuries that each, on their own, would qualify. However, in these circumstances, the following formula will affect the award for each one: 

  • The most serious injury – 100 per cent of the tariff value.
  • An equal or second highest value injury – 30 per cent of the tariff value.
  • An equal or third highest value injury – 15 per cent of the tariff value. 

There are further tariff payments which you could be eligible to receive if, as a direct consequence of your injury, you:

  • Catch a sexually transmitted disease
  • Become pregnant
  • Lose a foetus

Could Special Expenses Make Up Part Of My Violent Crime Compensation?

The Scheme also outlines a potential special expenses payment. This compensates for financial losses incurred as a result of your injury, which are deemed as necessary, reasonable and not available elsewhere for free.

To be considered eligible for a special expenses payment, your injury must have affected your earning capacity, caused you to lose income or made you similarly incapacitated for longer than 28 weeks. 

These financial losses may include the following:

  • Equipment upon which you relied as a physical aid, which was damaged or lost due to the incident giving rise to your injury.
  • Care costs in connection to your meal preparation or bodily fluids. 

Additionally, you could be awarded a payment for loss of earnings. To be eligible you must meet several criteria, such as being unable to undertake any paid work or having a very limited capacity to do so for more than 28 full weeks.

The CICA can only compensate you for loss of earnings from week 29 onwards. However, they can reimburse special expenses from the date of the injury.   

Enter the details of your claim into our compensation calculator for an accurate estimate of the award that you could be eligible to receive. Alternatively, call our team to discuss your specific circumstances.

Contact Us For Free 24/7 – See If You Could Receive Criminal Injuries Compensation

Get in touch for a free assessment of your claim. Our advisors can offer confidential legal advice regarding eligibility and potential compensation amounts. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Therefore, you can speak to someone at a time that suits you. 

Additionally, if they find you have an eligible claim, they may connect you with criminal injury solicitors from our panel.

To get in touch, you can:

Learn More About Using No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitors To Claim

Below we have provided more of our guides on criminal injury claims:

Also, we have provided some external sources for information and support: 

Thank you for reading this guide on the benefits of using No Win No Fee criminal injury solicitors. If you require any additional information, please get in touch using the details above.

Writer Jess Oisin

Editor Meg Monk