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Criminal injury compensation FAQs

We understand that victims of a criminal assault will have many questions about making a claim and funding a case.

Read our frequently asked questions or speak to one of our experts for free advice, here to help.

How long will my application for Criminal Injuries Compensation take?

It is important to appreciate that there is no set time scale for how long it takes for your application to be processed and an award made if eligibility is established.

What can I do to assist with my application for Criminal Injuries Compensation?

After the criminal assault you must report the matter to the police and must co-operate fully with them.

What happens if I obtain another source of compensation?

If you obtain compensation in some other way then it will be deducted from any award made by the CICA.

What are DWP benefits?

The DWP will pay certain benefits if you are assaulted and have no income – Income Support, Housing Benefit, Disability Living Allowance and many others. All of these benefits are taken into account when an award is made. 

Digby Brown has its own welfare rights advisors and if you wish to know more about claiming DWP benefits we can arrange for them to contact you.

What sources of funding are available for criminal injuries cases?

If you have been the innocent victim of a criminal you can apply to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for compensation.

The process of preparing your case can still involve considerable expense in obtaining the necessary medical and other expert reports. The prospect of having to find the money to pay for expert reports, and the risk of having to meet your own solicitor’s costs is sufficient to force many victims to accept inadequate awards from the CICA.

That is why Digby Brown formed its’ own funding company, Compensate, which takes the financial risk out of applying for criminal injuries compensation by providing a complete funding package. With Compensate you can afford to use the leading experts who will help you establish your case. 

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.

0333 200 5926

Monday to Friday: 8am - 8pm 
Saturday and Sunday: 12pm - 4pm

(Please note, local rate, even from mobile)

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Complete our enquiry form and we will strive to reply within 24 hours

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We put our clients at the centre of everything we do and are committed to providing the very best service. The hundreds of five star reviews we have received on Trustpilot is a reflection of this approach.

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