Appeal a CICA decision regarding compensation
HNK Solicitors can help you appeal a decision made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). Our expert CICA solicitors can help you to get the compensation you deserve to help you move on with your life after you have fallen victim to a violent crime.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority rejects or refuses to award compensation on a high volume of all submitted claims. In a lot of cases where compensation is awarded, the CICA regularly make the wrong decision, which results in the level of compensation awarded being far too low.
If you have submitted a review application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and you are still unhappy with the decision you have received or the reasoning behind this, you can then launch an appeal. HNK Solicitors has a team of dedicated criminal injury solicitors who can help you prepare an appeal and represent you at an appeal hearing. At this stage, expert legal advice is crucial to getting the outcome you desire.
Many applicants who do not already have a representative may wish to elect one if their claim and review application have been refused, or they believe their award is too low, to assist them with an appeal. Our expert CICA solicitors can help those who believe their compensation is too low or those who believe their claim has been unfairly rejected to launch an appeal against the CICA’s decision, even if you did not originally seek our help with your CICA application or CICA review.
How the CICA appeal process works:
If your criminal injuries compensation claim has been rejected or undervalued, and you have applied for a review and you still do not agree with the decision, the next step is to start an appeal. The appeal is made to the First-Tier Tribunal, and the Tribunal Service is not part of the CICA. It is an independent body who is responsible for ensuring that CICA decisions are fair, correct, and properly implement the law.
Your CICA appeal must be made within 90 days of receiving the final review decision letter. This time can be extended, but only if you request an extension based on good reasons and it is fair to do so, for example, if your application requires further medical reports which must be assessed before a decision to make an appeal is made.
HNK Solicitors team of expert criminal injury solicitors can help you to prepare an appeal to the Tribunal. At this stage, expert legal advice is crucial. You cannot appeal a decision simply because you are unhappy with the amount of your award. To successfully appeal, you must explain why you think the CICA has misunderstood the law on the facts of your case.
Often the CICA will disagree with your appeal and present its own response. If so, you will have another month to submit any other documentation and respond to the points made by the CICA. The Tribunal will look at your appeal and the CICA’s response. If the Tribunal believes you do not have an arguable case, they will dismiss your appeal on the papers, but if they believe you do have an arguable case, they will invite you to a hearing before a Judge to explain your arguments.
HNK Solicitors can assist you with the preparation of your appeal and we can also represent you at any appeal hearings. If the Tribunal decides your case should have a hearing, they will inform an applicant via writing and they will provide a hearing time and day as soon as an appropriate venue is available.
The hearing usually involves a representative from the CICA to explain the reasoning behind their decision, and at least 2 representatives from the Tribunal. They will ask questions and will allow the applicant to present their case. If you are successful in your appeal, the Tribunal will send the case back to the CICA for them to continue their process.
HNK Client Settles for over £7,000 in False Imprisonment and Assault Case Against Leicestershire Police
HNK Solicitors can help you appeal a CICA decision:
Having a legal representative increases the likelihood of your Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) appeal succeeding. Our expert criminal injury solicitors understand the CICA’s process and the criteria and deadlines that are required to be met, so they know the best steps on how to proceed with your appeal and are much more likely to get you the outcome you deserve.
As leading criminal injury compensation solicitors, HNK Solicitors have an excellent record on receiving successful appeal decisions at Tribunal. In many cases, we have succeeded in obtaining an increased award for an applicant or in arguing that the applicant is eligible for an award where they previously had been rejected.
If you have been dealing with your application to the CICA without legal representation and feel you have reached the stage where you need legal assistance in making an appeal, HNK Solicitors offer free no-obligation consultations where we are more than happy to look over the details of your case with a view to taking your claim on. In many cases, we can offer a no-win, no-fee agreement, so you would not have to pay a penny unless your claim is successful.
We understand this process can be difficult and distressing, but we are here to help make the process as easy and stress-free as possible. You will be assigned a dedicated case handler who will fight to get the compensation you deserve.
Free Consultation
We offer a free, no-obligation consultation where we will help assess your claim with discretion and sensitivity and offer honest advice.
No-Win-No-Fee
We can offer a no-win-no-fee service which means it costs you nothing upfront and you only have to pay if your application is successful and you receive compensation. As a standard we charge a set fee of either £500 or 25% Plus VAT (whichever is the greatest) from the compensation you receive. No matter how long your claim takes to conclude, or how much work we have to invest in the matter, our fee remains fixed.
Trained Experts
All our criminal injuries lawyers are highly trained to deal with these sensitive cases with care and consideration. They have years of experience in dealing with applications to the CICA and want to help you get the compensation you deserve, so you can rest assured they have your best interests at heart.
FAQ
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is a government-run scheme which provides the innocent victims of violent crimes who suffer injury or psychological harm with compensation.
If you have been the blameless victim of a crime and suffered an injury, you could be entitled to make a compensation claim from the CICA.
It is as simple as getting in touch with us and one of our expert criminal injury lawyers will provide you with a free, no-obligation consultation in which time they will assess your claim and let you know if they believe you are entitled to launch an appeal.
If we believe you have a strong case, our experts can advise you about how much compensation you can expect, any costs and can even take care of the appeal application process on your behalf, as well as representing you at a hearing if one takes place.
This will depend on whether the Tribunal feels it is necessary to hold a hearing or not. If they do not feel they need to hold a hearing, an appeal will usually take around 3 to 6 months starting from the date the Tribunal receives the Notice of Appeal.
For CICA appeals that do require a hearing, the hearing will usually be held within 6 to 12 months of receipts of the Notice of Appeal. If a hearing is held, you will usually receive the decision from the Tribunal at the hearing itself.
Usually, the decision of the First Tier Tribunal Judge is legally correct and that would be the end of the matter. However, if the decision made by the Tribunals Service is legally flawed, you can appeal to a higher Tribunal, called the Upper Tribunal, for judicial review of the decision.
Before applying for a judicial review, you have to write to the tribunal within one month of the date of the decision with your reasons explaining why you believe the decision was wrong and the alleged error of law. You then have 3 months from the original decision to lodge your application for a judicial review.
At a judicial review, a senior Judge reviews the lawfulness the decision made by the First tier Tribunal. If the Upper Tribunal finds that the decision of the First Tier Tribunal is legally incorrect, then it will send the case back to the CICA and request it makes another decision, in the legally correct way. HNK Solicitors can help you with the preparation of your judicial review application and represent you at the hearing.
If you satisfy the criteria, you could be entitled to compensation ranging from £1000 to £500,000, depending on the severity of your injuries.
The compensation depends on the type of injuries you sustained, examples of some of the most common awards received are:
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• A strained neck or whiplash lasting more than 13 weeks: £1,000
- • Fractured jaw: £1,500
- • Significant scarring to the face: £2,400
- • Fractured skull requiring an operation: £4,600
- • Loss of a front tooth: £1,500
- • Funeral payments: a maximum of £5,000
- • Bereavement payments: maximum of £11,000
- • Repeated rapes over a period exceeding 3 years: £22,000
- • Non-penetrative sexual acts over clothing: £1,000
A CICA case can be lengthy, complex and a difficult process to handle. Many innocent victims of crime expect the CICA to be sympathetic and make the process as easy as possible when they apply for compensation. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Having an experienced CICA solicitor can be the difference between a successful or rejected claim and a solicitor is much more likely to get you the amount of compensation you deserve. Our team of highly trained criminal injury lawyers have expert knowledge in CICA cases and a wide range of experience, so they know the best steps on how to proceed. They can also make this process much easier and less stressful for you by guiding you through the process, chasing up and securing any evidence, medical reports, police statements or social services reports which may be needed to support your case. Our lawyers take away the stress of you having to deal with your own application, leaving you to focus on your recovery.
We also have a dedicated team at the CICA who oversees all of the applications we submit on behalf of our clients. This ensures that any applications we submit are dealt with efficiently and promptly. This isn’t a service that is afforded to applicants who apply directly without our assistance, or to all other firms of solicitors.
If the CICA make a decision with regards to your review application, our dedicated lawyers provide you with advice in regards to the merits of the decision. If the CICA make an offer of compensation which is not correct, or if they come back with the same decision to reject your claim, our solicitors can guide you through the process of appealing the decision and represent you at the Tribunal.
Our knowledge of the CICA Scheme 2012 is extensive, this equips our lawyers with the understanding required to challenge any incorrect decision made by the CICA. If the CICA do not put right any incorrect decisions they make, we will represent our clients before the Appeals Tribunal whereby our advocacy skills are put to good use. Such assistance throughout the process isn’t afforded to an unrepresented applicant.
