Grievous Bodily Harm Criminal Injury Claims Guide
By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 23rd July 2024. This guide looks at making a claim for grievous bodily harm (GBH) through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The CICA awards compensation to those who have been injured due to a crime of violence that happened in Great Britain. We explain what GBH is before taking a look at the eligibility criteria for grievous bodily harm criminal injury claims.
If you are eligible to make a claim through the CICA, you may be interested in how GBH compensation could be awarded. This guide will explain how the CICA compensates criminal injuries. We’ll also provide a few examples from the tariff of injuries found in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.
We conclude this guide with a look at the benefits of instructing a No Win No Fee solicitor specialising in criminal injury claims to work on your case.
If you’d like to learn about the key points from this guide, why not check out our video below:
If you need any help regarding your potential claim for compensation for GBH, please get in touch with an advisor from our team. To speak to an advisor:
- Contact us online
- Ask a question in our live webchat.
- Call 0800 073 8804
Select A Section
- What Is GBH?
- What Is The Difference Between GBH And ABH
- What Harm May Be Caused To The Victim?
- Do I Need Evidence To Receive GBH Compensation?
- How Should People Report Being The Victim Of GBH?
- Criminal Injury Compensation Calculator
- Compensation For GBH – What Are Special Expenses?
- Claim Compensation For GBH With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Essential References
What Is GBH?
A fairly common question when talking about criminal assault is, “what is classed as GBH?”. It is essentially where an assault causes a very serious injury to a criminal injury victim.
The Offences against the Person Act 1861 provides details on what determines GBH. It sets out what GBH with intent is and what GBH without intent is.
If you have experienced GBH, you may be eligible to make your claim through the CICA. For more information on how to make grievous bodily harm criminal injury claims, please continue reading.
What Is GBH With Intent?
As per Section 18 of the Offences Against The Person Act 1861, GBH with intent is where someone unlawfully and maliciously intends to cause grievous bodily harm to any person.
It may be referred to as, ‘causing GBH with intent’ or ‘wounding with intent’.
What Is GBH Without Intent?
GBH without intent is where the attacker has intended to attack the person but hasn’t intended to cause the level of harm that was sustained by the victim.
For instance, the attacker may have intended to push over the victim but didn’t intend for the victim to fall and hit their head on the curb causing them to sustain a serious head injury.
Examples of GBH
There are various types of GBH, such as:
- Broken bones
- Puncture wounds, such as those caused by a weapon
- Concussion
- Brain damage
- Spinal damage
If you have experienced a similar type of GBH or have another example of GBH that you would like to discuss, please get in touch with our team. An advisor could help you understand whether you’re eligible to make your claim through the CICA.
What Is The Difference Between GBH And ABH?
As well as GBH, you may have heard of actual bodily harm, or ABH. Both ABH and GBH are forms of assault and are considered violent crimes. They can both be intentional or reckless, but they carry very different sentences for criminal conviction. ABH has a maximum sentence of 5-years in jail whereas section 18 GBH can result in life imprisonment.
So, if we take the analogy from the previous section. If somebody pushes over another person, and they sustain a sprained wrist from the fall, this would be classed as ABH as the injury is not serious. However, if the fall caused a fractured skull, then the crime could be classed as GBH due to the seriousness of the injury.
However, it’s worth noting that claims involving ABH still work the same way as a compensation claim for GBH.
To learn more about grievous bodily harm criminal injury claims, please read on.
What Harm May Be Caused To The Victim?
One of the criteria used by courts when sentencing a criminal for GBH is the level of harm caused to the victim. Therefore, they’ll consider:
- The type of injuries caused by the assault. This can include psychological injuries or the transmission of disease.
- Where the assault was sustained.
- If the victim was particularly vulnerable.
Therefore, a sentence could be increased if the victim was an elderly or vulnerable member of society.
Do I Need Evidence To Receive GBH Compensation?
Whether your injuries were caused by GBH without intent, or GBH with intent, you need to be able to support your claim with evidence. However, the burden of evidence can be reduced depending on how you make your claim.
When making a civil claim directly against the assailant for you GBH injuries, then the evidence needs to be substantial. In other words, “beyond reasonable doubt”.
When making CICA claims, your claim is assessed based on “the balance of probability”. You don’t have to prove that someone has been convicted for the crime.
However, the CICA will ask you for certain items as part of the claims process. Reporting the incident to the Police is a must if you wish to claim compensation because the CICA will ask you for your police reference number. They will also want proof that you meet residency requirements and medical evidence.
What Is The Time Limit For A CICA Claim?
As well as supplying the items that the CICA need to process your claim, you must ensure that the case is submitted on time.
The CICA expects GBH victims to start their criminal injury claim within two years of the incident. It is also expected that they will have reported the matter to the police as soon as reasonably possible.
With that being said, the CICA might accept a claim if exceptional circumstances meant that claiming within the general time limit wasn’t possible.
To learn more and see how long you have to start a GBH injury claim with the CICA, plus how long a claim typically takes, please call today.
How Should People Report Being The Victim Of GBH?
We’re now going to look at how you should report being the victim of GBH. We’ll look at cases of GBH at work and in public places. This is because, in order to have grounds to make grievous bodily harm criminal injury claims, the crime will have had to have been reported to the police first.
If you’ve been the victim of GBH and haven’t pressed charges, don’t worry, you could still begin a claim. Speak with an advisor and let them know what happened. In both of the scenarios listed below, you should seek medical attention for your injuries and report the crime to the police (and ask for a reference number).
Claims For GBH In The Workplace
All employers have a duty of care to try and ensure their staff’s safety wherever possible. This might mean putting security measures in place if there’s a perceived risk to staff from customer violence. For instance, they could provide security screens or security guards if necessary.
If you experience an assault at work, you should inform a supervisor or manager as soon as possible. By law, they should log the incident in their accident report book. If you do make a claim because your employer’s negligence led to the assault, the accident report form could be used as evidence to prove dates, times and who was involved.
That said, employers might have absolutely no way of knowing that an assault might take place. If that’s the case, you wouldn’t be able to claim against your employer, but you could be eligible to claim through the CICA.
For more information on making a workplace GBH claim, call our team. Additionally, please read on for more examples of grievous bodily harm criminal injury claims.
Claims For GBH In Public Places
Similarly, if you are assaulted in a public place, you should report the incident to the staff so that it’s logged. If it can be shown that the operator of a business was somehow negligent and allowed the assault to happen, then you could be entitled to claim against them.
For instance, if a customer was allowed to continue purchasing alcohol in a bar when they’d already been aggressive and then went on to assault you when you tried to stop a fight, you might be able to claim compensation.
If you experienced an assault in a public place, please get in touch with our team on the number above.
Criminal Injury Compensation Calculator
The CICA uses a fixed tariff found in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 to determine how much compensation for GBH a claimant will receive.
They can compensate a victim for up to three injuries suffered as a direct result of the crime. However, you only receive the full tariff value from the 2012 Scheme for the injury with the highest value. Otherwise, you would get:
- 30% of the tariff figure for an injury with the same value or less.
- 15% of the tariff total for an injury valued the same as the above, or the lowest of the three.
You would receive a payment that isn’t affected by the multiple injury formula if the crime led to:
- Pregnancy.
- Loss of a foetus, or;
- Contracting a sexually-transmitted infection (STI).
The table you see below contains figures from the 2012 Scheme, with the sole exception of the top line. It can be used as an alternative to a criminal injuries compensation calculator, but like a calculator it is only a guide.
You can get a more detailed review of what you could seek GBH compensation for by calling us and speaking to an advisor.
Injury Type Severity CICA Tariff
Multiple serious criminal injuries and special expenses Serious Up to £500,000
Brain damage Very serious £175,000
Moderately severe £110,000
Arms Loss of both arms £110,000
Total function loss to both arms. £82,000
Ankle fractures Continuing significant disability in both ankles. £16,500
Disabling mental injury Lasting 5 years or more but is not permanent £13,500
Scarring to the face Serious disfigurement £11,000
Fractured pelvis Continuing significant disability £11,000
Compensation For GBH – What Are Special Expenses?
You could also receive special expenses when claiming compensation for GBH. These costs and items must not be freely available elsewhere. The costs must also be reasonable and the items necessary. Additionally, they need to have been caused by your criminal injury. Under special expenses, you could claim for:
- Any equipment that you relied on as a physical aid that was damaged in the incident, such as your glasses.
- Equipment needed to cope with your injuries, including physical aids and specially adapted vehicles.
- Accommodation modifications. This can include changes to both the inside and outside of the home, such as stairlifts and ramps.
- Care costs that relate to food preparation or your bodily functions.
Additionally, you might be eligible to claim for a loss of earnings as part of your claim. However, you will need to meet specific criteria.
Call our advisors to learn more about claiming for a loss of earnings and special expenses for criminal injury claims.
Claim Compensation For GBH With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
You could consider working with a No Win No Fee solicitor if you have valid grounds to claim compensation for GBH. Our advisors are available to discuss your claim. If they determine you have a strong case, they may connect you with one of our solicitors.
One of our No Win No Fee solicitors may offer to help with your GBH compensation claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this type of arrangement, you won’t be required to pay upfront or ongoing fees for the solicitor’s services. You also don’t need to pay your solicitor for their services if your claim is unsuccessful.
If your claim is successful, then the solicitor who helped with your claim will take a success fee. This is a legally capped percentage deducted from the compensation awarded to you.
For more advice on claiming compensation with a No Win No Fee solicitor, get in touch with our advisors for free. You can reach them by:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Filling in the contact form on our website.
- Using our 24/7 live chat service.
Essential References
Thanks for taking the time to read our grievous bodily harm criminal injury claims guide. We hope we’ve answered any questions you might have about criminal injury claims. In this final section of the guide, we’ve provided some links to some more of our guides and some relevant external resources as well.
- Victim Support – An independent UK charity who aim to support those affected by criminal acts or traumatic events.
- Domestic Violence And Abuse – Information and support from the NHS for anyone who’s suffered as a result of domestic violence or abuse.
Below, you can learn more about CICA claims via our other guides:
- Our guide to stabbing victim claims.
- We discuss compensation for robbery victim claims.
- How we can help with acid attack victim claims.
Should you need any further information, we’ll be more than happy to help. Please contact an advisor for more details. Thanks for taking the time to read our grievous bodily harm criminal injury claims guide.
