CICA - Criminal Injury enquiry

richyje

Hi,

I was recently attacked by some lunatic in Central London. I have been left with a scar on my face and have lost 2 teeth from the attack. I have been advised by the Police to seek compensation from the CICA. Since being attacked I have been plagued by Solicitors looking to take on my case (I understand they will take 25% of my compensation).

I do not understand the process, do I need a Solicitor to seek compensation ? What would be the benefits of having a Solicitor ?

Thanks,

James

GreyCat

Sorry you've had such a bad experience.

I think Victim's Support can help you apply for criminal injuries compensation. They are a charity and do not charge. The police should be able to give you contact details for your local branch, or see https://www.victimsupport.org.uk .

GreyCat

paddedjohn

You can do it all yourself very easily, use the site below.


http://www.justice.gov.uk/victims-and-witnesses/cica

fluffnutter

Sorry to hear about this. Please take some time researching how to claim yourself - I suspect it's really quite straightforward. Don't use a 'personal injury' specialist - they're shysters and will take a big fat fee for simply filling in a few forms for you.

paddedjohn

It is a very easy process to sort out, just use the link above and start the process, if you need any help you can call them and they will talk you through the process. They are government funded so won't charge you a penny and are really helpful.

Melonade

I'm sorry to hear what happened

Don't use a solicitor they will take a BIG chunk of any money you are awarded!

My son was punched in the face earlier this year and needed up with a fractured eye socket. We went through the CICA thing and it was easy. When my OH had a meeting with them he had to take all dates of hospital visits with him.

You can either meet with someone who will go through the claim with you or do it online. We didn't do it online because we were told once you start the form you can't stop and go back. We figured it was easier to meet with someone in case we made a mistake.

At the meeting my OH was told that a lot of people choose to use a solicitor because they think they can get more money. This isn't true, as far as I'm aware there is a set price for each injury so after fees you will actually end up with less!!

skintbuthappy81

Do it yourself you don't need a Solicitor to do it. I did it last year and the process was really easy.

SailorSam

I was a volunteer for VS and made regular claims for people, it isn't difficult to complete the forms yourself but we found to a lot of people who'd been injured it wasn't just the compensation, they found it helped to talk about how they were feeling.

Yorkie1

I suspect the 25% solicitors are referring to a civil claim for compensation against the person who caused the injuries. That sounds like the new fee arrangements in the civil courts.

CICA is different, I think, and paddedjohn has already posted the link I was going to post. It can be done directly.

SailorSam

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I suspect the 25% solicitors are referring to a civil claim for compensation against the person who caused the injuries. That sounds like the new fee arrangements in the civil courts.

CICA is different, I think, and paddedjohn has already posted the link I was going to post. It can be done directly.

When i was with VS people came to us to fill the forms in 'cos solicitors had told them the standard fee was 25% of whatever CICA gave them. I suppose it was a bit like no-win-no-fee. Except they knew they were going to win.
After they'd been paid out a couple of clients came back to see us with a box of chocs to say thamks, but not many.