Applying for criminal injuries compensation
At Digby Brown we are aware that being the victim of a criminal assault can leave people feeling vulnerable and frustrated, which is why we have a highly trained and experienced team to give you all the support you need.
The process of making an application under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, begins as soon as you get in touch either by phone or through our brief enquiry form and someone will contact you.
No win no fee personal injury solicitors
The expression “No Win – No Fee” is often used in personal injury cases. It is used as a way of funding a compensation claim where the accident victim does not have the means to pay for the costs involved as the case progresses.
A number of solicitors are prepared to handle personal injury cases on a “No Win – No Fee” basis but very few are able to offer their clients complete protection if the case is unsuccessful.
In that event, the client could end up being liable for many thousands of pounds in legal expenses or the case won't be fully investigated and therefore likely to under-settle.
Compensate 'no win no fee' funding
Digby Brown has its own funding company, Compensate, which provides the funding to allow the case to be fully investigated, employ the best experts surrounding the circumstances of the accident and/or injuries sustained and where and if necessary go to court.
If for whatever reason the case is unsuccessful, Compensate pays all your legal expenses and those of your opponent – you pay nothing.
On average our clients receive over 3 times the pre-litigation offer
Because of Compensate funding Digby Brown's success rate is extremely high and on average our clients receive three times the pre-litigation offer.
In the event the case is successful, a small percentage of your damages will be deducted with VAT to pay for this service. The percentage which Compensate will charge depends on the degree of risk involved. We believe that this is the fairest method of giving clients access to justice whilst ensuring their cases are fully investigated, prepared and funded.
Don’t take our word for it, just read many of the court decisions and case studies on our website, or watch Joanne's story.
Beware of compensation offers which may be too good
We know you will have seen many adverts offering 100% compensation or telling you that you will not lose any of your compensation, however we believe there are a number of problems with companies that do this.
- How do they make their money if they don’t charge you anything?
- If they aren’t taking any money from you, the client, what incentive do they have to ensure you receive the right level of compensation, appropriate to the injuries you have sustained?
- Fully preparing a case, finding out exactly what happened and what the consequences of your injuries may mean in the long term, is expensive, how do they do this properly?
- If they aren’t fully preparing these cases will they just accept the first offer they are given on your behalf by the Insurance company?
- It makes simple business sense, the less work they do the higher their profit margin is - they simply have no incentive to work harder on your behalf.
- These adverts in the main are from English firms on national television which operates in a different way and therefore wouldn’t apply to a Scottish person.
We know from the many client cases we mandate from other firms of solicitors (in the main at the request of the client who is extremely unsatisfied with the service received for the other firm) that many shortcuts are taken in preparation and that the first offer received is being recommended for acceptance, regardless of the value.
Getting something for nothing is usually the first sign of poor service.
Correct level of compensation with Digby Brown
Our experience and statistics show time and time again we will achieve the correct level of compensation which will be substantially more than the insurer is initially prepared to offer.
Even after we have deducted our percentage as a success fee you will gain considerably more than you would have achieved using a 100% compensation model.
Contact Digby Brown's personal injury solicitors
We have offices across Scotland in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Aberdeen and Ayr.
For further information about no win no fee, or anything else, call us on 0333 200 5925 or fill in our enquiry form below and someone will get back in touch with you.
We will begin by collecting details of the incident and you can speak to one of our experienced lawyers who will be able to give you initial advice on your application.
Wherever possible we like to follow up the initial conversation by arranging a face to face meeting with new clients. This gives the client an opportunity to meet the person who will be handling the case and it allows us to take a detailed statement about the incident and your injuries. Sometimes geographical difficulties make it difficult to arrange an immediate meeting and in that event we will take a detailed statement over the phone. If your injuries prevent you attending one of our offices, we will be happy to visit you at your home or in hospital.
We will assist you to complete the application form and explain exactly what steps we will be taking after the application is submitted and let you know what you can do to help us. We never charge for the initial meeting. We operate on a no win, no fee basis and we will discuss the funding of the case. It is very important that if you have a previous medical history or criminal record which may be relevant to the claim or by your conduct contributed to the assault, you should tell us straight away.
We will submit the application form to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority on your behalf. Once eligibility has been established and an award made, it may be necessary for us to advise you to seek a Review if the award is not at the level we consider appropriate. After Review we may advise you to appeal to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel. The CICAP is an independent body and we shall represent you at the Hearing.
While it is for the CICA to make enquiries of the police about the incident and to obtain details of your injuries, in many cases we need to obtain a medical report so that we can assess the value your case. We will also calculate any loss of past or future earnings as well as any other head of claim that might apply under the Scheme.
For more information about criminal assault compensation claims and funding a case, please see our frequently asked questions.
0333 200 5926
Monday to Friday: 8am - 8pm
Saturday and Sunday: 12pm - 4pm
(Please note, local rate, even from mobile)
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