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If a violent attack or someone else’s unlawful behaviour causes death or disability from severe physical or psychological injury, the injured person may be able to claim compensation.
Our specialist personal injury solicitors are experts in securing rehabilitation and compensation for clients with lifelong disability from brain injury, spinal cord injury (SCI), and multiple injury or major trauma and for the families of those who have died as a result of fatal injury.
We understand the immense suffering that our clients have been through and the challenges they face every day. We handle each claim sensitively and skilfully, providing support and representation.
Speak to our personal injury solicitors
We know that it can feel daunting to talk about injuries caused by a criminal attack or unlawful behaviour, but all it takes is a quick conversation to find out how we can help. You can contact us by telephone or by email for free, confidential advice from a specialist personal injury solicitor. In serious injury cases, we often visit our clients in the hospital or at their home if they are unable to get to our offices.
We will ask you to tell us briefly about the accident and injury. We will advise you about your time limits and whether we can help you make a claim. Your solicitor will discuss with you how your claim will be funded and advise, fully and clearly, how that works and what it will mean for you. We will put your claim to the defendant individual or organisation that was responsible for your injury, or the CICA, and we will handle all communication on your behalf.
Each case is different, and our experienced solicitors will advise you on the best way to make your claim to ensure you receive the highest level of compensation. It is possible to claim substantial compensation for serious injury suffered by victims of criminal or unlawful behaviour from an insured individual or organisation, such as an employer, a local authority, a healthcare or social care organisation, the MOD, a school or college, a sports club, a driver, or the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB). In cases of violent crime, we can help you obtain your full entitlement to compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
Senior Partner, Personal Injury
Our specialist CICA lawyers secured £3 million in compensation for a boy who was left with a brain injury, learning disability, behavioural problems and blindness, after he was shaken by his father at the age of 13 weeks.
Read the full story.
Apr 2023
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Jan 2025
Excellent service from Claire and her team at all times. We were kept up to date at each stage of our claim. The outcome was much better than we expected and we would not hesitate to recommend Boyes Turner to family and friends.
Kim at Boyes Turner was recommended to me after I had received ineffective service from another company. From the outset, Kim has been professional, reassuring and supportive. I have always had faith in her ability to get the best outcome, not only financially, but also in helping my rehabilitation from a traumatic brain injury. She is friendly and empathetic, with unquestionable professional integrity. She was quick to grasp the important issues in my case, was meticulous in her investigating the details and analysing them, realistic in what the outcomes were likely to be and achieved a successful outcome. I would not hesitate in recommending her and Boyes Turner.
Kim and team at Boyes Turner were a patient and stabilising force though a multi year case. This case was littered with trauma and upset from the beginning and exacerbated by mis truths and rewriting of the demonstrable facts from the opposition. Kim guided me carefully through the process and helped to neutralise the negativity coming from the opposition throughout.
Claire is exceptionally knowledgeable in the personal injury legal domain, especially in the specific area of my injury. From our very first conversation, she was clear in explaining the potential different routes that the process could take and provided me with expectations of what I could expect along the journey. She ensured that all bases were covered, organising meetings, discussions and necessary specialist appointments, in order to bring together the case and take it forward. Claire was then able to use her extensive pool of contacts, to appoint an "area leading" barrister, to represent me. Overall, I was very pleased with appointing Claire and Boyes Turner to act as my solicitor for the legal claim that I pursued. Thank you for all of your support.
When someone is seriously injured by another person’s unlawful behaviour or violent attack, they may be able to claim compensation for their injuries. The amount of compensation that they can claim, depends on how the injury occurred, its severity and its impact on the injured person’s life. In claims for criminal or unlawful injury, the amount of compensation that can be claimed also depends on whether the claim is made against the CICA or an insured organisation or individual defendant.
Injuries caused by violent crime may be eligible for CICA compensation, such as:
Where the injury was caused by the negligence, criminal or unlawful behaviour of an individual or organisation with a duty of care (responsibility) toward the person who was injured, such as an employer or local authority, the injured person may be able to recover a higher amount of compensation by making a personal injury claim against the wrongdoer and/or their insurers.
You can talk to one of our experienced personal injury solicitors, free and confidentially, for advice on the best way to obtain compensation for your injury by contacting us.
Our personal injury lawyers specialise in obtaining rehabilitation and compensation for people with severe and life changing injury.
In compensation claims against an insured defendant, we can help our clients recover compensation for one or more of the following types of injury:
Claims for compensation from the CICA can only be made for specific types of severe injuries. These include severe physical injuries, sexual or physical abuse, the death of a close relative or disabling psychological injuries which have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority or CICA is a government agency which provides compensation to seriously injured victims of violent crime. CICA handles more than 30,000 claims and pays out more than £130 million in compensation each year to people who have been injured by violent crime in England, Scotland or Wales.
CICA claims are different from personal injury compensation claims which are made against the person or organisation responsible for causing the injury and are usually defended or settled by the wrongdoer’s insurers. CICA claims are made directly to the CICA, rather than against the person who caused the injury. CICA deals with the claim, which it either rejects or accepts and pays the victim’s compensation. For the claim to be accepted, the crime must have been reported to the police, but the victim’s attacker or abuser does not have to be identified or convicted and is not made aware of the victim’s claim, which is handled confidentially by the CICA.
CICA claims have their own time limits, strict eligibility criteria, and processes for applications, review and appeals. Unlike personal injury negligence claims, in which the wrongdoer’s insurer pays compensation to the injured person for a wide variety of injuries and financial losses, CICA compensation is fixed by a tariff that is set by the government funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. CICA compensation is paid by the government via the scheme.
CICA’s compensation tariff usually results in a lower amount of compensation than someone with the same injuries would receive in a personal injury claim settlement or court award. CICA compensation is currently limited to a maximum of £500,000 in any successful claim.
CICA has strict eligibility criteria for who can make a claim. CICA compensation claims can be made by:
In addition:
CICA also considers the victim’s own behaviour before, during or after the crime. The claim may be refused or the compensation reduced if the injured victim provoked or willingly took part in a fight, or had previous criminal convictions.
Victims of crime who fulfil CICA’s criteria can make their own application directly to the CICA, but where their injuries are complex or severe their compensation may be significantly increased if their claim is handled by an experienced solicitor.
The time limits to make a CICA claim are shorter than the limitation deadlines for personal injury claims. The general rule for CICA claims is that the application must be made within two years of the date of the crime which caused the injury.
Exceptions to the CICA’s two-year time limit include:
In all cases, the crime must be reported to the police before applying the CICA.
Failure to claim within the CICA’s time limit usually results in the injured victim’s claim being rejected. You should not delay making an application until the criminal court case has concluded. If the police advise you to delay making your CICA claim, you should seek advice from a specialist solicitor.
Our personal injury solicitors act for our clients in personal injury claims against insured defendants on a no win no fee basis. This means that if your claim succeeds, most of the legal costs will be paid by the defendant’s insurers, and there is nothing to pay if your claim is unsuccessful.
In CICA claims, the CICA does not pay any of the injured victim’s legal costs, so these must be paid from the injured person’s compensation. For this reason, it is possible for injured victims of crime to make their own application to the CICA, without instructing a solicitor. However, where the injuries are severe, we recommend that the injured person is advised and represented by a specialist solicitor as this can significantly increase the amount of compensation.
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