Have You Been Injured in an Assault? You May Be Able to Claim Compensation

VWV personal injury solicitors have extensive experience in dealing with accident and personal injury claims for compensation.

Am I eligible for compensation?

The victims are often relieved to find that there is a government backed compensation scheme for innocent victims who have been injured and suffered losses as a result of the assault.

The scheme is run by the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority and to obtain compensation the victim needs to have:

• reported the assault to the police and obtained a crime reference number

• co-operated with any police inquiry and prosecution

• be the entirely innocent victim -  this usually means the attack must be unprovoked

How do I make a claim?

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.

What if I was assaulted at work?

You can sometimes bring a claim against an employer if the assault takes place during the course of employment, if there has been negligence on the part of the employer, or if the attack has been between fellow employees. An employer, in certain situations, is responsible for the acts of another employee.

The Supreme Court has recently clarified that employers can be held responsible for crimes committed by employees at work. A customer of a petrol station suffered a violent physical attack at the hands of an employee of Morrisons Supermarket. The attack was completely unprovoked and was thought to be racially motivated. Morrisons was held be to liable for the assault because the actions of their employee were connected to his employment activities and Morrisons was, therefore, vicariously responsible.

How can I get help to make a claim?

Augustines Injury Law is the dedicated personal injury claims and union services 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 have been successful in also obtaining compensation for nurses and other health care staff who have been assaulted by patients where their employer has not put appropriate safeguards in place to protect their staff.

What will it cost me?

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.

If you have been the victim of a violent crime and would like some further advice on bringing a compensation claim, either through the Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme or against a company or other person, please contact Jan Markland on 0117 3145 373.