If you have been the victim of a crime of violence and suffered personal injuries directly attributable to the crime of violence you may be eligible for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. Threats to carry out a crime of violence against you which results in injury may also be compensated.
In one such reported case a 25 year old woman jumped out of her first floor window to escape from her violent husband and injured her back leaving her unable to look after her young child at home without the help of daily domestic support. She was awarded £129,530.
You are eligible to apply for compensation if you have been injured seriously enough to qualify for at least the minimum award of £1,000 and the injury occurred in Scotland, England or Wales even if the person or person(s) who attacked you have not necessarily been convicted or charged with the crime.
Your application for compensation must be submitted within 2 years of the incident which resulted in your injury. If there are exceptional circumstances which prevented you making the application within the time limit we can apply for a waiver to have your application received late.
The Criminal Injuries claim may be refused or the compensation reduced in the following circumstances:
1. You have a criminal record
2. You did not inform the Police of the incident within a reasonable time.
3. You refused to co-operate with the police or the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
4. Your behaviour before, during or after the incident which resulted in your injury was a contributory factor. this was originally introduced to prevent for example those who sustained injuries while involved in gang fights or similar type circumstances.