VWV's Personal Injury team have extensive experience in dealing with accident and personal injury claims for compensation.
The victims are often relieved to find that there is a government backed compensation scheme for innocent victims of violent crime and who have suffered losses as a result of the injury.
The scheme is run by the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority and to obtain compensation the victim needs to have:
In those situations, a claim can be made by completing an online form which is submitted to the claims handling authority for the compensation award to be made. We can help you with completing the necessary paperwork.
You can sometimes bring a claim against an individual or organisation. We can advise you on whether you have a civil claim. You can pursue both a Criminal Injury Compensation claim and a civil claim at the same time. If you are successful in both claims then you will need to repay money to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, as you are not able to receive compensation twice for the same injury.
Applications must be made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority within two years of the date of an incident. However, this time limit can be extended if there are exceptional circumstances. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will consider any injury sustained after 1 August 1964.
We can assist in applications in respect of exceptional circumstances.
If a civil claim can be made then court proceedings do need to be started within three years of an incident. However, again, time can be extended.
Augustines Injury Law is the dedicated personal injury claims division of leading law firm VWV.
We can assist in making the claim and dealing with any queries that the Compensation Authority have, or if they refuse an award for some reason which we think is unjust, by appealing the decision. We can also assist in negotiating the best settlement.
We are usually paid by taking a percentage of the compensation once negotiated, so that there is no cost to the victim if they do not succeed and if they do succeed, payment is only at the end of the claim. We can advise you on the most appropriate way to fund a claim.