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For more information, please contact our team on 0800 195 6412,email us at enquiries@steplegal.co.uk or pop in to see us for a chat.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims
Our personal injury lawyers can help you to make a criminal injuries compensation claim for:
- physical or psychological injuries resulting from a violent crime or act of terrorism;
- the death of a close relative from a violent crime or act of terrorism;
- physical or psychological injuries resulting from sexual or physical abuse; and
- any associated loss of earnings or out of pocket expenses.
We can also put you in touch with victim support groups who can provide practical and emotional support to help you come to terms with what you have been through. These include victim support, the victim and witness information service and the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (napac).
Personal Injury Compensation
To make a compensation claim you will need to prove, usually via the production of medical evidence and statements from witnesses, that:
- you were injured as a result of the crime;
- you were injured while trying to stop the crime;
- the crime was committed against a loved one in your presence or immediately before your arrival on the scene; or
- the crime resulted in a close relative’s death
You will also have to prove that:
- the crime was reported to the police;
- you were a British citizen at the time the crime was committed or someone else entitled to claim under the scheme’s eligibility criteria; and
- you have already taken steps to try to recover any other compensation or payments you may be entitled to, for example by claiming under a car insurance policy where you were injured in a criminally motivated road traffic accident or by making an application for any available state benefits.
Your compensation claim will be made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, who administer claims for compensation made under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Compensation Amount
The amount of compensation you receive will vary depending on how many injuries you have sustained, how serious each of them were and the financial burden these placed on you. Average payouts for moderate whiplash injuries with no financial losses may be as little as £1,0000 whereas a serious spinal injury resulting in paralysis and a complete inability to return to work could result in a payout of more than £250,000.
Time limits
You normally have two years from the date of the crime in which to make a claim, although longer time limits will apply where you are seeking compensation for childhood sexual or physical abuse or where health issues have made it impossible for you to claim in the usual two year period.
Why choose Step Legal Solicitors?
Our lawyers are personal injury specialists who have been supporting victims of criminal violence for a number of years, particularly those who have suffered serious physical injury or psychological trauma.
We have an impressive track record in achieving great results in criminal injury claims, including for people who have been told by other solicitors that their case is hopeless or who have been offered an inadequate settlement amount and want legal assistance to launch an appeal.
Recent successes achieved by our legal team include securing a compensation award of £14,000 on behalf of a taxi driver who suffered physical and psychological injuries following a physical attack by a gang of youths.
As members of The Law Society Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers your can rest assured that our lawyers truly are experts in their field and committed to ensuring you get justice for what you have been through.
Why not read our client testimonials to see what people are saying about us.
Legal fees
We understand that you will be concerned about the potential cost of bringing a personal injury claim, but there is no need to worry as we offer an initial, free of charge meeting to determine whether a claim may be possible and insurance backed no win, no fee funding thereafter which means that there will be no financial risk to you in the event your claim is unsuccessful. Find out more by reading our costs information factsheet.
Location
Our offices are conveniently located in Crewe and benefit from visitor parking spaces, step-free access and a ground floor meeting room.
Home visits are available for disabled or infirm clients living in Cheshire, Staffordshire and the surrounding counties for whom travel to our offices would be difficult. In particular we are happy to visit clients living in Northwich, Nantwich, Sandbach, Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent.
Polish Clients
If you are Polish and need help with interpretation or the translation of documents we can provide this as part of our personal injury service, courtesy of our Polish paralegal Agnieszka Kulas.
