Last Updated 29th October 2025. Acid attacks can be deeply traumatic, with the potential to leave victims with life-changing injuries and long-term mental harm. Survivors often face a long and difficult recovery, in addition to social and economic challenges. If you have been injured in this way and have already begun researching acid attack victims’ claims, we can help you get started with pursuing criminal injury compensation.
Here at Legal Expert, our criminal injury solicitors have decades of experience providing compassionate, expert support to clients nationwide. This is provided on No Win No Fee terms, ensuring that all eligible claimants can benefit from tailored support regardless of their financial situation. So, if you work with one of them, you will be backed by a legal representative who genuinely cares about your needs and the outcome of your acid attack claim.
4.8 (466 reviews) Your Burning Questions Answered
- Why do acid attacks happen? Acid attacks happen for various reasons, ranging from domestic abuse to gang violence.
- What are the symptoms of an acid attack? Symptoms include severe burns and blistering of the skin, which may be immediately apparent and can damage tissue all the way to the bone.
- How are severe acid attack injuries treated? Severe acid attack injuries may require reconstructive surgery like skin grafts, as well as scar management, physical therapy, and mental health support.
- How is acid attack compensation calculated? Payouts for acid attack claims are calculated based on the physical and psychological consequences of an injury and any financial losses.
- What services can a solicitor offer me? A solicitor can support your acid attack claim by managing legal paperwork, handling communications on your behalf, and helping with the task of gathering evidence.
Compensation For A Criminal Injury
If you have suffered a chemical burn following an acid attack, you might wonder what compensation you could claim. As an acid attack would be considered a crime of violence, you will likely need to claim through the CICA.
If this is the case, you would be compensated according to the tariff of injuries found in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. Examples can be found in the table below. Please note that the top figure is the maximum which can be awarded under this scheme.
| Injury | Severity | Tariff Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple severe injuries and special expenses | Expenses might be for property damage, home adaptations, and care costs | Up to £500,000 |
| Burns | Affecting multiple body areas | £33,000 |
| Severe face burns | £27,000 | |
| Significant head burns | £16,500 | |
| Severe neck burns | £16,500 | |
| Severe to the torso | £11,000 | |
| Severe lower limbs | £11,000 | |
| Mental injury | Permanent and seriously disabling | £27,000 |
| Lasting 5+ years | £13,500 |
Compensation for an acid attack can cover a wide variety of burn injuries and scarring to many different areas of the body. It could also potentially compensate for psychological injuries caused by an acid attack.
If your claim to the CICA covers multiple injuries, then the exact amount you can receive in total as criminal injury compensation will depend on which exact injuries are being covered. It also depends on which of the injuries you are claiming for is considered the most serious.
This is because, when claiming acid attack compensation under the CICA tariff system, you’ll receive:
- 100% of the tariff for the highest-value injury
- For the second-highest value injury, you’ll receive 30% of the tariff
- For the third-highest value injury, you’ll be given 15% of the tariff
When claiming through the CICA, your compensation could also include special expenses. This addresses certain financial losses you may have suffered as a result of your criminal injury.
For an estimate of compensation for a criminal injury, you can speak to our advisors at any time.
4.8 (466 reviews) How To Begin An Acid Attack Burn Injury Claim
Are you interested in pursuing acid attack victims claims for yourself or a loved one? If you need to make an acid burn compensation claim but don’t know where to begin, don’t worry. All you need to do is call us, and we will help you every step of the way to launch your claim.
When you call us, you will speak with a member of our professional team who will provide a free consultation. Please read further on in our guide to find out more about No Win No Fee.
What Is An Accid Attack?
Before we look further into claims for an acid attack, let’s look at what an acid attack is. Also, what physical damage can an acid attack cause?
A victim of an acid attack is someone on the receiving end of a violent assault, where a corrosive liquid, such as sulphuric acid, is purposefully thrown at them with the intent to cause harm. In most cases, the acid is thrown at the victim’s face with the intention to burn them, leaving them with permanent scarring and disfigurement. Depending on the type of acid used and the quantity, the skin tissue can be so damaged that the bones often get exposed and even sometimes start to dissolve.
These types of attacks can lead to blindness, and permanent scarring and disfigurement that cause extreme pain and suffering to the victim. The psychological effect can be catastrophic, and the long-term impact on the victim’s life will be very detrimental.
Why Are Acid Attacks On The Rise?
Acid attacks are on the rise in England and Wales. There are various reasons behind this. For example, corrosive substances can be easy to carry around. They can be placed into a sports bottle, where they remain unnoticed, whereas a knife may be much easier to spot.
Additionally, not all corrosive substances that can cause injury to another person are illegal. For example, it is not illegal to purchase household cleaning products, such as bleach. However, this bleach could result in severe injuries for an acid burn victim. Furthermore, bleach is readily available in supermarkets and other shops. Someone who had bleach thrown on them is considered an acid attack victim.
Resources: https://inews.co.uk/news/two-hurt-acid-attacks-every-day-britain-2884916
https://news.sky.com/story/acid-attacks-increase-by-69-in-a-year-in-england-and-wales-charity-warns-12987581
If you want to know what to do after an acid attack to claim compensation, please speak to an advisor from our team. They can discuss the eligibility to make an acid attack claim, and if you meet this, they could help you get your case started.
How Can An Acid Attack Be Life Changing?
Being the victim of an acid attack will have a massive impact on your life. The most obvious change is permanent disfigurement, but there is much more to it than what is visible. These are just a few of many reasons why you may want to make claims for compensation for acid attack victims.
Medical Effects Of An Acid Attack
The medical effects of an acid attack can be enormous. In most acid attack cases, the acid is thrown at the victim’s face, and the severity of the damage caused will depend on the strength of the acid, the type of acid and the length of time it takes to start to flush with running water. The acid can burn away the skin and the layer of fat very quickly, and in some cases even dissolve the underlying bone. Nose and ears may be severely damaged, and eyelids and lips may be completely destroyed. Other effects can be as follows:
- The skull may be partly destroyed or deformed and hair will be lost.
- Eyelids may be either completely burned away or deformed, leaving the eyes vulnerable and extremely dry which can result in blindness. If the acid has got onto the eye directly, loss of sight is probable, possibly in both eyes.
- Deafness may occur due to the ear cartilage being partly or totally destroyed or deformed.
- The nose can become deformed, or/and shrunken, and also due to damage to the cartilage in the nose, the nostrils may completely close off.
- The mouth may lose its full range of motion and may become shrunken and narrow. Often the lips are completely destroyed making speech difficult and also exposing the teeth.
- Scars can go down from the chin to the neck area, causing restricted movement of the neck.
- Respiratory problems may arise due to breathing in the vapours of the acid.
As well as these horrific effects, the victims may also be more susceptible to developing septicaemia, renal failure, skin depigmentation and in exceptionally severe cases, even death.
Psychological Effects Of An Acid Attack
As part of your acid attack claim, you may wish to seek compensation for the psychological effects of your incident.
Victims of acid attacks face many mental health issues upon recovery. Levels of anxiety and depression increase a great deal, as does psychological distress brought on by concern about their appearance. Low self-esteem, particularly in women, and self-consciousness become an issue.
Being attacked undoubtedly will leave the victims traumatised by what happened, and many may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
It may take years of counselling before victims can finally recover mentally, if at all.
Social Impact
As well as the physical and psychological effects, many social implications are common for those hurt in acid attacks, which may contribute to them wanting to pursue a claim. For example, violent attacks, including those involving the use of acid, often leave the victim handicapped in some way.
They are therefore often having to depend on others to help them with their day-to-day activities such as eating and running errands. Frequently, these dependencies occur because many victims are unable to find suitable work. Injuries may include impaired vision or hearing, which can have a huge negative impact on a person’s life.
What Evidence Do I Need For An Acid Attack Claim?
If you have been a victim of an acid attack, this may have caused you to suffer from physical, cosmetic and psychological damage that could even be life-changing. Therefore, you may question, ‘What to do if acid is thrown on you?’ However, if you meet the eligibility criteria, you have a legal right to claim compensation.
If you are making your acid attack victim claim through the CICA, they will ask you for certain items. These include:
- Your police reference number.
- A medical report.
- Proof that you satisfy the residency requirements.
The CICA will use your police reference number to liaise with the police. However, you do not need to wait for a suspect to be caught or even identified before starting your claim.
Please speak to a member of our advisory team if you have any questions about claiming acid attack compensation through the CICA.
No Win No Fee Acid Attack Claims
If you’re worried about the cost of legal help when making acid attack victims claims, we work on a No Win No Fee basis to minimise this.
This means that you will not be expected to pay a penny until your claim is made successful and your compensation will then easily cover the cost. In the unlikely event that your claim was unsuccessful, you would not need to pay us anything at all.
With No Win No Fee, you have nothing to lose. As our payment relies on your compensation claim being successful, we always work hard to ensure the maximum amount of compensation is paid out to you.
4.8 (466 reviews) Why Choose Us As Your Claims Service For An Acid Attack Claim?
If you’re interested in pursuing compensation from acid attack victims claims, we’re here to help.
We are a professional, friendly and highly experienced injury claims firm that treat all of our customers with respect and importance. We do our best to get the best compensation payouts that our clients deserve in the most efficient and smooth manner possible.
We understand that you are having a tough time and will treat you with care and consideration and be discreet at all times. We will do our best to make the claiming process as painless as possible so you don’t have any unnecessary stress and can focus on your recovery.
4.8 (466 reviews) Call For Free Advice And To Start A Claim
If you are a victim of an acid attack and you want to make a claim or have any queries about acid attack victims claims, all you need to do is:
- Call on 0800 073 8804
- Use the live chat feature.
- Contact us online.
You will speak to a member of our professional team who will assist you in any way that they can. They will answer any questions you may have and will talk you through the claiming process step by step. We are a friendly, caring team. You can feel at ease with us and rest assure that your recovery and compensation claim will be our main priority.
Useful Links
Below, you can learn more about CICA claims via our other guides:
- Guidance on how long a criminal injury claim takes.
- Details about whether you can claim compensation if no one has been convicted of the crime?
- Information and advice on arson compensation claims
- Help for rape victim claims
- A guide on domestic abuse compensation
Now that you’ve read our guide, you may want to speak with an advisor. To ask further questions or get support with a claim, you can get in touch with our advisors using the contact details included on this page. An advisor can discuss UK acid attack victims’ claims and answer other questions.
