Historical Abuse Compensation Claims | No Win No Fee

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 31st October 2023. In this guide, we explain the process for making a claim for historic abuse. We explore the criteria for taking legal action, who the claim could be pursued against, and look at how historical abuse can be proven.

If you’d like help making a sexual abuse claim, we can help too. Our No Win No Fee solicitors specialise in criminal injury cases and have successfully helped thousands of people. They can help you too.

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historical abuse compensation claims

A guide to historic abuse claims

Select A Section

  1. What’s The Criteria For Historic Abuse Claims?
  2. Is There A Time Limit For Making A Historical Abuse Compensation Claim?
  3. Evidence Needed For Historical Abuse Claims
  4. Historic Abuse Compensation Payouts
  5. No Win No Fee Agreements And Claiming Compensation For Historical Abuse
  6. Learn More About Claiming Compensation For Historical Abuse

What’s The Criteria For Historic Abuse Claims?

Historical sexual abuse is defined as sexual abuse when the victim was under 18 but is now an adult.

If you have suffered historic sexual abuse, then you could make a criminal injury claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The CICA are a government body that awards compensation to those who have been criminally injured.

However, to be able to make a claim through the CICA for compensation for historical abuse, you must meet the following criteria:

  1. You need to have reported the incident to the police.
  2. The incident must have occurred in Wales, Scotland, England or another relevant place, such as a ship registered to any of these countries.
  3. You must have been injured in a crime of violence. The CICA define a crime of violence as an attack, threat of attack, sexual assault, arson, or an act or omission of a violent nature that causes harm.
  4. Your claim must be made within the relevant time limit (this is generally two years from the date you reported the incident to the police).

Contact our advisors today if you have any questions about historic abuse claims made through the CICA.

Is There A Time Limit For Making A Historical Abuse Compensation Claim?

There is a time limit for most claims, including sexual abuse claims. Under the Limitation Act 1980, if you are claiming against the perpetrator or another relevant third party, you would typically have 3 years from the date of the incident to claim. However, there are exceptions to this time limit so it’s worth getting in touch with us to see if you meet any of these.  

If you’re claiming via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, you would typically have two years from the date of the incident to claim. However, it could still be possible for you to claim historical abuse compensation after this period. According to the government’s CICA compensation guide, you could be eligible to claim after 2 years if:

  • You have suffered physical or sexual abuse in childhood
  • You couldn’t claim earlier because your physical or mental health prevented you from doing so. 

To learn more about making historic abuse claims, why not speak to one of our advisors? They could assess your case to see if you could be eligible for compensation. Furthermore, they could connect you with one of our specialist solicitors, who could help you put together a case for compensation.

Evidence Needed For Historical Abuse Claims

When making a claim for compensation for historic abuse through the CICA, you will need to be able to provide the following types of information.

  1. Medical evidence regarding the criminal injuries you have suffered.
  2. A police reference number to prove that you have reported the incident to the police.
  3. Evidence that you meet the CICA’s residency requirements.

It is important to note that when you are making a criminal injury claim through the CICA, they will be able to liaise with the police for any information they may need regarding the incident.

If you are still wondering, ‘Can I claim compensation for historical abuse?’, you can contact one of our friendly advisors today. They can also offer you free advice for your particular case and may connect you with one of our experienced criminal injury solicitors.

Historic Abuse Compensation Payouts 

If you are claiming historic abuse compensation through the CICA, your compensation will be a set amount as listed in the tariff in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.

The table below features numerous examples of CICA payouts for historic abuse compensation claims.

CICA Compensation Payouts

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Injury Type Compensation Figure Description
Non-Consensual Penile Penetration of a Minor £44,000 This compensation figure is for if the incident has led to a serious internal bodily injury with permanent mental illness having been caused.
Non-Consensual Penile Penetration of a Minor £22,000 This compensation figure is for an incident that has resulted in serious internal bodily injuries.
Non-Consensual Penile Penetration of a Minor £16,500 This compensation figure is for repeated incidents that last up to 3 years.
Non-Consensual Penile Penetration of a Minor £11,000 This compensation figure is for one incident only.
Sexual Assault of a Minor £22,000 At least one penetrative or non-penile oral genital act(s) that cause bodily injuries that are serious in nature.
Sexual Assault of a Minor £4,400 At least of one non-penile oral genital or penetrative act(s) that are isolated incidents, having occurred two or more times.
Sexual Assault of a Minor £3,300 A serious pattern of repetitive non-penetrative sexual acts under clothing.
Sexual Assault of a Minor £1,000 This is considered a minor offence as it involves sexual physical act(s) that are non-penetrative over clothing.

Multiple injuries and CICA claims

If you want to claim for multiple injuries through the CICA, you may receive 100% of the full tariff value for the most severe injury. After that, you may be entitled to 30% of the tariff amount for the second most serious injury. If claiming for a third injury, you could receive 15% of the tariff amount.

No Win No Fee Agreements And Claiming Compensation For Historical Abuse

If you are eligible to claim compensation for historical abuse, it might be helpful to have a solicitor assist you. They can help guide you through the claiming process and explain any legal jargon that is used. One of our solicitors may offer to work on your claim under a No Win No Fee arrangement, known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Under this type of contract, you would not be expected to pay your solicitor anything upfront for their work. You will also not have to pay them any ongoing service fees. Should your claim not be successful, you will not be obligated to pay them for the work they have provided on your case.

Instead, the solicitor would agree to take a legally capped success fee from your payout if your claim is successful.

To learn whether one of our solicitors could take on your historic abuse compensation, you can contact our advisors:

Learn More About Claiming Compensation For Historical Abuse

In this final section of our guide to child abuse compensation claims, we’ve provided some further links you may find useful.

Thank you for reading our guide to historical abuse compensation. If you need any more support, please get in touch.