Typically victims of violent crime have two years from either the date of the incident or the date by which they reported the crime to the police. However, if it is a case of historic sexual abuse then that timescale will differ and may be dependent upon factors such as the age of the claimant at the time that they reported it.
In some instances it is possible to claim beyond the two year period, for example, where the claimant has suffered mental impairment as a consequence of what has happened to them. However, it will depend upon the individual facts of the case and may require specialist review by a solicitor.
One of the main issues is that Claimant’s often don’t know that they can claim compensation until its too late. This is because The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is not very well publicised and victims only tend to hear about it if they are liaising with support organisations such as the Witness Advice Service with their main contact being the attendance on the day of the trial. In a post pandemic world trial dates are being postponed which means that often claimants aren’t getting this support until well past the two year deadline.
If you have been the victim of a violent crime and you think that you are eligible to claim then the best thing that you can do is contact a solicitor as soon as possible for advice. Here at SHU Law we do not charge clients for work undertaken by our solicitor for criminal injuries compensation claims and we would be happy to run through details of what’s happened with you to advise as to next steps. Please contact our office on 01142256666 or email us at www.shulaw.co.uk. If you know someone who has been victim of a violent crime then don’t forget to tell them about the possibility of making a claim and the timescale to avoid any disappointment further down the line.