Vehicle injury- CICA Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims
If you are looking for an experienced firm to deal with your claim from start to finish, we ask that you telephone all the other firms offering CICA representation and then ring us last. We offer a most reasonable no-win, no-fee scheme which other firms simply cannot match.
You really should compare at least a few firms before you make a decision. We recommend you do this before you ring us on FREEPHONE 0800 169 3683. We'll be waiting for your call.
CICA- general rules about CICA criminal injury compensation for injury by vehicles.
In general terms, the CICA will only pay criminal injuries compensation to applicants who have been injured where a vehicle was used as a weapon. The 2008 Scheme (the current criminal injuries compensation scheme) is quite clear that it is not a criminal injury where ......the injury is attributable to the use of a vehicle, except where the vehicle was used so as deliberately to inflict, or attempt to inflict, injury on any person.
The applicant will have to demonstrate that the driver of the vehicle drove the vehicle in a deliberate attempt to injure the applicant. This is always difficult to prove, but the evidence of witnesses is always very important. Even if the witnesses are your family or friends, this will be helpful in establishing the truth of the incident.
The CICA will probably need an intention for the defendant to injure, so recklessness may well be insufficient. The applicant will need to explain why s/he believes that there was intention to cause injury. It will not help the applicant even if the defendant was driving illegally, for example speeding, or driving the wrong way along a one-way street, or even driving a stolen vehicle. An example of this was a case where a pedestrian was struck by a car driven by robbers making a get-away from the crime. The CICA held this to be a traffic accident and not a criminal injury compensation claim. There was no evidence that the driver had make a deliberate attempt to run down the pedestrian.
In another case, the CICA held that a motor-cyclist who had been thrown from his machine due to debris that had been placed in the carriageway by vandals, would succeed in a claim for criminal injuries compensation. The CICA accepted that the debris from a vandalised wall had deliberately been placed on the roadway to injury another. This demonstrates that even though there was no other vehicle involved, the CICA were willing to compensate the victim as a criminal act had occurred.
In an extreme hypothetical example, a pedestrian injured after being chased by a car driven by an enraged driver, along a footpath, may well have some merit. But a claim made by a pedestrian crossing the road who is struck by an unlicensed driver will probably not fall within the 2008 Criminal Injuries Scheme.
This information is only a guide and should not be relied upon. If you need any advice, please telephone Freephone 0800 169 3683. We give advice freely on CICA compensation claims and will help where we can.
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