By Stephen Anderson. Last updated 29th June 2022. You could potentially receive grievous bodily harm (GBH) compensation if you’ve suffered a serious injury as the victim of a criminal act. This guide will aim to answer questions like “can you get compensation for being assaulted?”. It will also explain how the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) plays a role in awarding compensation to those injured in violent crimes.
GBH compensation guide
If you have any questions or queries about claiming for criminal injuries, please don’t hesitate to contact our team of advisors. They are available 24/7, offer free legal advice and can confirm if you’re eligible to claim.
A specialised personal injury solicitor from our panel can help you with the claims process and may be able to offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. Contact us now using the details below.
- Call us now using 0800 408 7825
- Contact us through our website.
- Use the Live Chat window that’s now on your screen.
Please read on to learn more about making a criminal injury claim for GBH compensation.
Select A Section
- What Is Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH)?
- What Injuries Could You Have Suffered?
- Reporting A Crime Or Being Witness To A Crime
- What Does The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Do?
- Do I Have A GBH Compensation Claim?
- How Much Compensation For GBH With Intent?
- Start A No Win No Fee GBH Compensation Claim
- Criminal Injury Claim Resources
What Is Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH)?
If you’ve been a victim of grievous bodily harm (GBH), it means that you have suffered a serious injury that could greatly impact the quality of your life. This can include injuries like fractures, deep lacerations and internal bleeding. The definition of grievous bodily harm in the UK is outlined in the Offences against the Person Act 1861.
Assault occasioning grievous bodily harm will result in really serious injuries. These injuries don’t need to be permanent or life-threatening, however. When assessing whether an assault is classed as Actual Bodily Harm (ABH), the need for treatment might indicate one way or the other. Similarly, if you need significant or ongoing medical treatment (like a blood transfusion or intensive care) this could indicate GBH.
In order to be found guilty of GBH, you don’t need to have intended to cause grievous bodily harm; you only need to have meant to use the unlawful force that led to the harm. So, for example, if someone slapped you in the face and this caused your head to knock into something, causing brain damage, it doesn’t matter that they didn’t mean to cause this level of harm. All that matters is that they intended to use unlawful force on you (the slap).
You can claim against the perpetrator directly. However, they would need to be identified, and they would also need to have the funds to pay you your compensation.
It’s important to also note that to receive GBH compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), the perpetrator of your injuries doesn’t need to have been criminally convicted. You don’t even need to know who the perpetrator is in order to claim.
To learn more about this, please call our team of advisors. They offer free legal advice, can tell you if you’re eligible to claim and can provide you with a compensation estimate that’s as accurate as possible in a single phone call.
What Injuries Could You Have Suffered?
There are many types of incidents that could lead to you claiming GBH compensation. These include:
- Bone fractures and dislocations
- Lacerations, cuts and bruises
- Knife or bullet wounds
- Injuries leading to internal bleeding
- An assault that leads to brain damage
Suffering from this kind of assault can have a hugely negative impact on your quality of life. These injuries can lead to permanent side effects that can decrease your quality of life. You could receive compensation for the damage caused. To do this, however, you would need to make sure that the crime is reported.
Reporting A Crime Or Being Witness To A Crime
“Can I claim for GBH?” is a common question that is often asked if you’ve suffered a criminal injury. One of the most important aspects of making a criminal injury claim through the CICA is that you need to have reported the crime to the police.
The crime should be reported to the police as soon as possible. If you cannot report the crime straight away, you should do this as soon as possible.
As well as being the victim of a crime, you could also claim if:
- You witnessed the death of a close relative
- You witnessed the immediate aftermath of the death of a loved one
- You’re financially dependant on the person who died
In order to claim on behalf of a loved one, you must be a qualifying relative. This can include a:
- Spouse or civil partner who lived with the deceased
- Partner of the deceased who lived with them for 2 years before their death
- A partner, civil partner or spouse who did not live with the deceased because of ill health
- A spouse or civil partner (current or former) who depended on the deceased financially
- A parent or child of the deceased
For more information on how the CICA can award GBH compensation, please read on.
What Does The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Do?
Now we’ve clarified the criteria for making a claim, you may be wondering, “what does the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority do?”. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) deals with claims for people who have been either physically or mentally injured due to being a victim of a violent crime in Great Britain.
They deal with over 30,000 claims per year and help victims to receive compensation for their injuries. They use the Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme to determine the amount of compensation you could receive.
Therefore, you can contact them to claim if you’ve suffered an injury caused by a criminal act. You could, however, find the process difficult to deal with or be unsure of the information you need.
This is where our personal injury lawyers could help you. They have years of experience dealing with criminal injury compensation claims and can work with you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Do I Have A GBH Compensation Claim?
Regarding being eligible to receive GBH compensation, the main factors are that you have reported the crime to the police and that you claim within two years of the event occurring. However, there are exceptions to this.
If one of the following applies to your injury, you may be able to claim outside of the standard two-year time limit:
- You’re claiming due to being the victim of childhood physical or sexual abuse
- You’re claiming now because you were unable to do so before. For example, this could be because you suffered from physical or mental issues preventing you from claiming.
You will need to prove that exceptional circumstances stopped you from reporting the incident before you did. The incident must have also happened in England, Scotland, Wales or another “relevant place”.
If you’re unsure, our advisors can help you. They can determine in just one phone call if you’re eligible to receive compensation. Contact us today using the details above to see if you can claim.
How Much Compensation For GBH With Intent?
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority can help you receive GBH compensation. They use the Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme to assess what you could receive for an assault claim. Specific figures are assigned to particular injuries based on the injury and how badly it has affected you.
In the table below is a list of injuries that a claimant may have suffered when they experience grievous bodily harm and the compensation amounts the CICA can offer for these potential GBH injuries. This can help give you a greater understanding of what you could receive in compensation for GBH with intent.
| Type of Injury | Amount of Compensation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Brain damage | £82,000 | Injuries in this category lead to significant brain damage leading to symptoms like intellectual deficit, a personality change with a reduced ability to work. |
| Loss Of One Leg | £33,000 | An injury like this leads to the loss of one leg below the knee. |
| Mental injury | £13,500 | Injuries in this category lead to a mental injury of a disabling nature, confirmed by either a prognosis from a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist or diagnosis. Injuries in this category will last for five years or more but are not permanent. |
| Facial Scarring | £11,000 | An injury in this category leads to serious disfigurement of the face. |
| Arms - Forearm Bone Fracture | £6,200 | This compensation is for injuries that lead to both radius bones being fractured. However, there is a substantial recovery after the injury. |
| Toe – Fracture To One Great Toe | £6,200 | An injury in this category causes continuous significant disability to a great toe. |
| Physical abuse including domestic abuse (to adults) | £5,500 | This compensation is for severe abuse causing a pattern of repetitive violence leading to minor disfigurement. |
| Skull Fracture | £4,600 | This amount of compensation is for a depressed skull fracture that requires surgery. |
| Clavicle | £4,600 | An injury in this bracket leads to two fractures clavicles, causing significant and continuous disability. |
| Foot | £3,500 | This injury leads to both feet suffering a fractured tarsal bone but a substantial recovery is made. |
A medical appointment may be arranged as part of your claim. In this assessment with an independent expert, your injuries will be confirmed and the extent of them will be determined.
Through the CICA, you can claim for such things as:
- Physical injuries
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Disabling mental injuries
- Paying for someone’s funeral
- Loss of earnings
If you’re claiming loss of earnings through the CICA, you will not be able to claim for the first 28 weeks you were out of work. In order to claim other special expenses through the CICA, you would need to show that you have suffered a loss of earnings for 28 weeks following the accident; however, this will be backdated to the date of the accident.
For more information on how to start a claim for GBH compensation, why not speak to our team today? You could be offered free legal advice about the claims process.
Start A No Win No Fee GBH Compensation Claim
You may be unsure what the benefits of using a personal injury solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis are. They include:
- Not paying for legal fees upfront or while the claim is ongoing
- Not having to pay legal fees if your claim isn’t successful
- Only paying legal fees in the event of a successful claim. This small amount is legally capped and will only be taken upon your claim being successful.
Our advisors offer free legal advice so, if you have any questions or queries, such as wanting to confirm your eligibility to claim, please get in touch with us at a time that suits you. They’re available 24/7 and can even provide you with a reliable compensation estimate over the phone. The work from our experienced panel of solicitors could result in you receiving thousands of pounds in compensation.
- Call us now using 0800 408 7825
- Contact us through our website.
- Use the Live Chat window that’s now on your screen.
Criminal Injury Claim Resources
To learn more about claiming GBH compensation, please use the links below.
The Office for National Statistics provides the latest sexual assault statistics from England and Wales, dating back to 2020.
To read more about what happens after submitting a claim through the CICA, visit this government website.
The Crown Prosecution Service prosecutes criminal cases that have been under police investigation in Wales and England. Visit their website to learn more.
You may be wondering, “can I sue someone for assault?” Please read this page on our website for answers to this question.
Do you want to learn more about child personal injury claims? If so, read this webpage.
Read this guide to learn more about the benefits of having a personal injury lawyer for your claim.
We also have some other guides you may find useful:
- Public accident claims hot spots
- Council slip and trip accidents
- Public transport accidents
- How to make a public liability claim
- Making a claim against the council
- Claiming for a pothole injury
- Making a claim against a shop
- Accidents in a public park
- Cycling accident claims
- Claiming for injuries suffered while shopping
- Get Free Support From Our Criminal Injuries Helpline
- What to do if a dog bites you in a public place
Alternatively, if you prefer, call us today to see if you’re eligible to claim GBH compensation.