Award increased from around £50,000 to almost £200,000 with Winston Solicitors challenge to CICA decision

Violent Attack

John (not his real name) suffered a serious assault in Tyneside on his way home from work. He had worked as a driver interacting with people happily every day. He did not expect an incident in town to escalate into a violent attack.

John was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries which left him with long term brain damage, and epilepsy. He did not return to work after the assault.

CICA Award

The CICA proposed an award of compensation for John’s injuries but made no allowance for the fact that his injuries meant he had been off work, and according to his neurologist, had very limited capacity to ever work again.

The CICA had also not awarded him anything for the care and assistance he had claimed for under the special expenses section of the scheme.

The award proposed by the CICA was around £55,000 in total. This was to compensate for his injuries but provided nothing for the other aspects of his claim.

Making an Application for Review

Winston Solicitors worked with John and obtained medical reports from his specialists. He was continually under the care of a neurologist for years after the assault, and also worked with an occupational therapist.

Winston Solicitors were also able to obtain information from HMRC (His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) and from DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) to evidence his employment history and show he had not worked since the attack.

John’s DWP records confirmed that he was in receipt of PIP (Personal Independence Payments) due to his medical conditions. His head injury had left him with a weakness down one side of his body and affected his mental processing skills. He was also at risk of unpredictable epileptic fits on a regular basis.

Winston Solicitors successfully challenged the decision from the CICA both in respect of John’s loss of earnings, and the fact that he needed regular looking after, due to his conditions.

Increased Award

The CICA increased award was just under £200,000 and this time accepted that John would never work again and awarded loss of earnings to state retirement age. The increased award also considered as special expenses the cost of having a carer to help him wash and dress himself and prepare meals.

The amount of compensation he received had increased almost fourfold.

This was a brilliant result for our client, and we are incredibly happy to have been able to help him achieve this.

If you would like to discuss a criminal injuries claim with one of our specialists at Winston Solicitors, please call 0113 320 5000 or email cica@winstonsolicitors.co.uk.