Claiming For a Criminal Injury – What Documents Do I Need?

If you have been the victim of a criminal injury and would like to pursue a claim for compensation, then you need to know what documents are required to get the ball rolling. These cases are sometimes more complicated than other compensation cases, so it’s important you know the distinction.

What are criminal injury claims?

The most obvious type of criminal injury that people receive is through a violent act, such as a mugging by an individual or a gang. There are other forms of criminal injuries that are not eligible for criminal injury claims, such as car accidents involving uninsured drivers, accidents where health and safety laws have been ignored and accidents caused by drink drivers.

Government aid

The first place that the injured party should visit is the government website, which has plenty of advice on what you need to do to begin fighting for compensation. The firm you use to handle your case will ask for specific details relating to the incident, but other information you’ll need to provide includes:

• Unique police reference number
• Contact details of the doctor or hospital you were treated at
• Name of the person who inflicted the injuries on you
• Date of a court case (if there is one already agreed)

Unique police reference number

One of the most important things that anyone subjected to criminal injuries must do is report the crime to the police. Failure to do this could seriously jeopardise the claim.

When you report a crime to the police you will be issued with a unique police reference number and this is the first thing you will be asked to supply when contacting a lawyer or solicitor. Even in severe cases, this reference number is important, so it is wise to report the incident to the police as soon as you are able to do so.

Failing to report the crime could mean that you are not eligible for compensation. 

Contact details of doctor/hospital

If you sustain any injuries through a criminal and violent act, you must get them treated by a doctor or at a hospital. In order to proceed with the compensation claim, the mandatory government form you have to fill in requires the contact details of the doctor that treated you to be provided.
 
There is naturally a lot of paperwork to fill in and details to provide when claiming for criminal injury compensation. For some it could be better to have a specialist lawyer working on their behalf, rather than attempting the process yourself. Lawyer jargon is not easily understood and is often best left to the professionals. 

It is also important to remember that compensation claims can only be made if the attack occurred within the last two years, meaning time is certainly of the essence when it comes to submitting your case.