By Stephen Anderson. Last Updated 18th October 2023. This guide will explain how to claim historical abuse compensation. The term historic abuse refers to abuse that an adult experienced while they were still a child. We sometimes refer to historic abuse as non-recent abuse.
Historical abuse compensation claim guide
If you have experienced historical abuse, you may still experience the effects of this. Victims of a crime can claim compensation in certain circumstances. In some cases, you might be able to claim against the perpetrator or against an organisation that was vicariously liable for the abuse taking place.
In other circumstances, you might be able to claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). This is an organisation sponsored by the government (in particular, the Ministry of Justice) that compensates people who have been injured in crimes of violence.
Public Interest Lawyers can provide you with a knowledgeable solicitor to handle your criminal injury claim. They may be able to handle your claim on a No Win No Fee basis, so you won’t have to pay an upfront solicitors fee.
To see if you could begin your claim for historic and sexual abuse compensation, please contact us today. You can:
- Call us today on 0800 408 7825
- Use our contact form to begin your claim online
- Use the live chat feature to the bottom-right of this screen
Select A Section
- When Could You Claim Historical Abuse Compensation?
- The Time Limits For Claiming Child Abuse Compensation
- How Can Historical Abuse Be Proven?
- Historical Abuse Compensation Payouts
- Making A No Win No Fee Historical Abuse Claim
When Could You Claim Historical Abuse Compensation?
You may be eligible to claim historical abuse compensation if you have been harmed by historical child abuse. You may make a historic sexual abuse claim against an institution that failed to protect you. For example, if you were sexually abused by a teacher in a school and the school failed to perform a DBS check that would have alerted them to previous convictions, then this might be grounds to make a claim.
Another route for seeking compensation is the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). In order to claim through the CICA, the incident must have been reported to the police.
As well as physical harm, historic sexual abuse can cause psychological injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or depression. If you are struggling with a psychiatric injury caused by historic child abuse, you may be eligible to claim compensation.
What Is The Definition Of Historic Abuse?
Historic abuse is defined as abuse that an adult experienced while they were still a child. Because of the definition of historic abuse, it’s possible that years or even decades could have passed between the incident occurring and the claim being made.
For more information on claiming historical abuse compensation, speak with a member of our team today.
The Time Limits For Claiming Child Abuse Compensation
If you are considering making a criminal injury claim for child abuse compensation through the CICA, you may wonder what the limitation period is.
Special provision is made for those who were under the age of 18 at the time of the incident. In these instances, a person with parental responsibilities for you can claim on the child’s behalf. Additionally, an application must be received:
- By the person’s 20th birthday if the incident was reported to the police before their 18th birthday
- Within two years of the first report to the police if the incident was reported to the police on the person’s 18th birthday or after.
It may be possible for exceptions to be made where exceptional circumstances prevented an application from being put forward earlier. For example, this could apply in cases where a person is seeking compensation for historical abuse.
Get in touch with our advisors to learn more about the time limits. They can assess whether you could still make a claim through the CICA and if you can, they can help you get started.
How Can Historical Abuse Be Proven?
To claim historical abuse compensation from the CICA, you will need certain evidence to support your case. This includes the following:
- You’ll need a crime reference number to show that the historic abuse you are claiming for has been reported to the police. While historic abuse can comprise multiple incidents over a period, there should only be one reference number you need once you’ve reported the abuse to police. The crime reference number is vital to historical abuse claims because the CICA will need it so they can liaise with the police for other information.
- Evidence that you meet the residency requirements. This means confirmation that you were ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom on the date of the incident or incidents you’re claiming for.
- Medical evidence will also be needed to confirm the injuries you’ve suffered due to historic abuse. If you have chosen to get help from a solicitor, then they can assist with gathering medical evidence.
For more advice on the steps to claiming for historic abuse, including how to get evidence or what historical abuse payments may be offered, contact our advisors today.
Historical Abuse Compensation Payouts
When you make a claim through the CICA, you will receive compensation for the physical and psychological pain and suffering caused by your injuries. As part of the claims process, you might be invited to a medical assessment so that your injuries can be valued.
The compensation amounts for these claims are based on tariffs from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. We have used some of these figures to create the table below:
| Reason For Claim | Payout Level | About |
|---|---|---|
| Sexual Assault (Victim is a child) | £22,000 | Frequent sexual abuse or assault which has resulted in the victim having serious internal injuries. |
| Sexual Assault (Victim is a child) | £22,000 | Where an attack has been carried out similar to the above, but where the person has suffered internal injuries. |
| Sexual Assault (Victim is a child) | £11,000 | Where a single attacker committed an act of non-consensual penetration of the mouth, vagina or anus in one incident. |
| Sexual Assault (Victim is a child) | £13,500 | Where an attack has been carried out as above, but carried out by 2 or more people. |
| Sexual Assault (Victim is a child) | £8,200 | Assault with a pattern of abuse and violence which has happened for three years or longer. |
| Sexual Assault (Victim is a child) | £6,600 | Assault with a pattern of abuse which lasted for up to three years. |
| Sexual Assault (Victim is a child) | £3,300 | Sexual assault which includes one instance of oral / genital acts such as non-penile penetration. |
| Sexual Assault (Victim is a child) | £1,000 | Minor sexual assault including non-penetrative acts which take place over the clothes. |
| Infection with HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. | £11,000 | Permanent disability |
| Infection with HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. | £5,500 | Substantial recovery |
As well as the compensation for your injuries, you could also receive special expenses. In order to claim special expenses, you will need to show that you lost earnings for at least 28 weeks after the incident.
Many special expenses will be compensated from the date of the accident, but a loss of earnings can only be paid once you’ve been out of work for 28 full weeks. The costs claimed back on special expenses must also be reasonable, necessary and incurred as a direct result of the incident.
For more information on what could be included in a historical abuse compensation claim, speak with an advisor today.
Making A No Win No Fee Historical Abuse Claim
If you have valid grounds to claim compensation for historic abuse, then you could choose to seek help from a solicitor. You have the option of discussing your historic abuse claim with our advisors. If they determine you have a valid case, then you could allow them to connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
An experienced No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could then offer to support your claim under what’s called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This agreement means you won’t have to pay the solicitor supporting you any upfront or ongoing fees for their service. Also, you won’t need to pay your solicitor for their work if your claim goes ahead but proves unsuccessful.
If your claim is a success, then the solicitor that supported you will receive their payment by taking what’s known as a success fee. This usually means that the solicitor will subtract a legally capped percentage from the compensation awarded to you. Details of how payment works will be confirmed in any agreement you sign with your solicitor.
For more advice on No Win No Fee solicitors and how one could help you claim historical abuse compensation, you are welcome to contact our advisors for free today. You can reach our team through the following methods:
- You can call us on 0800 408 7825
- You can also write to us using our contact page
- Or you can message us by using our 24/7 live chat service
Links Section
We appreciate you taking the time to read our historic abuse claims guide. If you wish to know more, please read these related guides.
What Are the Indicators of Sexual Abuse?
Historic Sexual Abuse Claims Specialists
Claiming Compensation For Sexual Abuse In Scotland
If you are a survivor of historical abuse, some organisations can help you. Please feel free to look at these online guides.
Help for survivors of historic child abuse, from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood.
Effects of child abuse from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
A guide to spotting child sexual abuse from the NHS.
If you have any more questions about claiming historical abuse compensation, please get in touch.