Criminal injury claims

If you are injured as a result of a crime, you should speak to experienced personal injury solicitors as soon as possible to find out if you are entitled to compensation.

The way in which compensation is awarded in these cases was controversially changed by the government in November 2012, and means that now only those who have been seriously injured are likely to be successful in securing criminal injury compensation.

This was reportedly put in place to save around £50 million from the annual bill for criminal injury compensation. If you are involved in a criminal incident and sustain so-called ‘minor injuries’ such as concussion or temporary deafness, these will no longer entitle you to make a claim.

If you are unsure whether or not you can claim, it is much better to speak to a solicitor about your situation and clarify matters rather than doing nothing.

How criminal injury claims work

The main components of a criminal injury claim have remained the same even after the 2012 changes. The following criteria needs to be satisfied if you wish to make a successful claim:

• You must be a blameless victim of a crime in England or Wales
• You reported the crime to the police straight away
• You have cooperated fully with all subsequent investigations
• Your claim is registered within two years of the incident occurring

Crucially, whether or not anyone was charged or convicted of the crime has no bearing on the eligibility of your claim. This is particularly useful information for those who were injured by someone who fled the scene and was never caught.

Contact Sheldon Davidson Solicitors

If you’d like to discuss a possible criminal injury claim in more detail, you can call Sheldon Davidson Solicitors today and arrange to speak to one of our personal injury solicitors in Manchester.