Civil Claims

There are some circumstances where you should consider not just a CICA claim but also a civil claim against the individual or organisation responsible for your injuries. This means that you would be pursuing a personal injury claim against them.

The benefit of making a civil claim is that the time limit to bring a claim is longer (3 years from the date of the incident or 3 years from the date of your 18^th birthday whichever is the sooner) and also the amount of compensation you get is usually higher.

The downside is that unless the person responsibility for your injuries is either good for the money or insured there’s little point in taking things much further forwards because even if you win they won’t have the money to compensate you.

If you were assaulted by someone in the course of their employment or there was an organisation involved that could have stopped the assault then the claim might not be against the individual but against their employers or that organisation. So for example, if you’re assaulted by a bouncer then you might have a claim against the night club you were in at the time. In these circumstances you would be much more likely to receive compensation if the claim is successful because there should be insurance in place.

If you recover a CICA claim and then succeed in a Personal Injury claim then the initial CICA may have to be repaid to prevent double recovery. There is nothing to stop you from bringing both claims at the same time however and is something which should probably be considered given the short time limits involved in CICA claims.

If you want to discuss civil claims in more detail then one of our volunteers will be able to guide you through the process and can be contacted on 01392 423000 or by email at info@student-law.co.uk.