Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims for Domestic Violence

Unlike most compensation claims, a criminal injuries compensation claim will award you compensation from a governmental fund, rather than from the person found guilty for your personal injury.

However, as your domestic violence lawyer will tell you, this doesn’t change the process of a settlement or trial, regardless of the reason for it – be it domestic violence or personal injury that resulted from other types of criminal acts.

Applying for Compensation

If a case – or more – of domestic violence has resulted in your injury, then you can make a Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim and be compensated, directly by the government, for your injuries.

Still, there are some things that you have to take into account before applying. For example:

• You must not be living with the abuser and you cannot plan on living with them again in the future.
• The domestic violence act has been reported to the police in a timely manner – as soon as possible.
• During the investigation, you must have attended court – if it was necessary – and cooperated with the police.
• In order to apply for compensation, the abuser must have been prosecuted for their crime.
• You must have not been the cause or the one who provoked the domestic violence incident.
• You must make a compensation claim within two years of your injury date.
• Lastly, you can apply for compensation if it is certain that a violent partner or abuser would not benefit from the compensation.

Naturally, most of the points mentioned above are there to make sure that the victim is not plotting with the alleged abuser in order to get compensated or that the abuser is not threatening/forcing the victim to apply for compensation.

What Can You Be Compensated For?

When it comes to compensation, you can receive awards for a variety of injuries, as well as several other things – generally, criminal injury compensation claims work similarly to personal injury cases.

For example, you can be awarded compensation if:

• You had mental or physical injuries that resulted from domestic violence/violent crime.
• You experienced loss of earnings, as well as future loss of earnings, as a result of the domestic violence. However, you must have been unable to work for at least 28 weeks after you’ve been injured/abused.
• You have experienced certain types of expenses – such as medical and dental bills. These are labeled as special expenses and you can claim them if you have been incapacitated for more than 28 weeks after the incident/domestic violence incident. 

The Bottom Line

As you can see, a criminal injuries compensation claim works almost like a personal injury claim. On top of that, the injured party can apply for it even if they have been the victim of domestic violence.

This type of claim basically ensures you compensation – if you are eligible – without having to go to trial or try to settle with your abuser. Naturally, a domestic violence lawyer is able to give you more information about how to make such a claim, as well as about the process behind it.