Victims of physical, violent assault do have the option to pursue a Personal Injury claim against their assailant. However, most of the assailants do not have the financial means to recompense the victim of the assault and would not have any insurance to indemnify them for a claim being brought against them.
However, all is not lost for the victim because it is possible (if the assault took place within 2 years of the application) to make an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). This is funded by the taxpayer and the CICA awards compensation on a tariff rate basis. In addition to awarding compensation, the CICA will also consider reimbursing the losses and expenses incurred by the victim. CICA will not pay for the first 26 weeks of loss of earnings arising from the assault.
The CICA will not usually consider applications where Police were not notified by the Claimant within 48 hours of the assault and awards can be reduced if the victim was deemed to have provoked the assault, or if the victim had a previous criminal record.
The application to the CICA has to be made online and once the application has been received by the CICA the merits of the application will be investigated. Often the CICA will require sight of the Police investigation records and the Claimant’s medical records. Due to the number of applications being made and a shortage of staff, the initial application can take some time to be considered. However, once a decision has been made, the CICA will notify the Claimant as to whether an award is to be offered. The Claimant can either accept the award or request a review. In addition, if the CICA decide not to make an award, the Claimant can request a review of that decision.
If the review does not alter the original decision, then the Claimant can appeal the decision and the Claimant’s appeal will be heard before a Tribunal, at a Tribunal Hearing. The benefit of taking the claim to an Appeal Tribunal hearing is that the members of the Tribunal are independent and not employees of the CICA. They usually have a legal or medical background and may be more sympathetic towards the Claimant as a result.
The most serious injury will attract 100% of the appropriate tariff, the 2nd most serious injury 50% and the 3rd, 30%.
We have acted successfully for a number of Claimants who have made CICA applications and if the claim has merit we will agree to act on a no win no fee basis.