Child Abuse Compensation – What to Expect
When approaching a child abuse lawyer many victims of child abuse do not know what to expect. Whilst we treat each child abuse compensation claim individually, we keep to best practice, which will usually mean following certain steps.
Contact a Child Abuse Lawyer
Our clients usually contact us in one of two ways; either by telephone (020 8399 5272) or by filling in the contact form to the right by clicking on ‘email’. If you decide to email us then we will usually contact you within two days, if you know that you are only available during certain hours then you might want to choose ‘have us phone’ and pick the time for us to call.
In the initial telephone call we will ask some very basic questions about your claim for child abuse compensation. We will listen to what you have to say and tell you how, as child abuse lawyers, we might be able to help. You will then be invited to visit us at a time of your suiting to discuss the claim in more detail.
Appointment to discuss your Compensation Claim
Usually within a few days of their first call, our clients visit us at our offices to discuss how we can proceed. This is our first opportunity to discuss your claim in detail with you. At this stage we will take a brief statement from you and will fully understand your abuse claim. Having dealt with the claims of hundreds of survivors of child abuse, we understand that talking about your abuse can be difficult, so we are sensitive and discreet in how we ask our questions and are receptive to your answers.
Once this meeting has taken place we will write to you explaining what your choices then are. Some of the items that the letter will explain include:
Your Claim for Abuse Compensation
Do you have a viable claim for compensation? Many survivors, former victims of child abuse, bring their claims long after the abuse has happened. The law sets time limits by which claims must be issued in the courts. These limitation rules are complex, but we are expert in them. The slightest delay can sometimes be fatal to a compensation claim. Whatever your situation; our advice is thus always to see a child abuse lawyer as soon as possible.
Helping Child Abuse Survivors
As child abuse compensation lawyers we focus on getting a monetary result for your claim. It is not very often that a defendant, such as a local authority, will offer a formal apology in addition to making a payment of damages; we will discuss this when you come to see us and expand upon it in our letter to you.
The Cost of your Child Abuse Case
Many child abuse survivors are worried about the cost of bringing a claim; we are here to help and explain. We have a licence to undertake publicly funded work in these types of claims and we can make an application to the Legal Services Commission on your behalf.
If you’re not entitled to public funding, we may be able to offer you a conditional fee or “no-win no-fee” agreement.
In addition, it is possible to insure against the risk of losing a litigation case. We are members of Accident Line, a Law Society approved legal expenses insurance scheme. The scheme can cover most child abuse compensation claims, but if your case is not eligible, there’s no need to worry, we’ll arrange an alternative legal expenses package for you. Sometimes you might even be covered by your household insurance policy.
Who your child abuse claim will be against
Victims of child abuse often have a number of different options for making a compensation claim. You may be able to make your claim:
- to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority if you are a victim of a “crime of violence”
- as a civil claim against your abuser directly
- against someone who was responsible for you at the time of the abuse and who failed to protect you from that child abuse
- against a local authority
We have expertise in all of the above types of claims, and will be able to advise on what is the most appropriate.
Starting your Child Abuse Compensation Claim
Once you have agreed for us to start your claim in earnest, we will begin to obtain evidence and will make contact with the person, company or authority identified in the letter that we wrote to you. We will ask you to visit a medical expert who specialises, as we do, in helping victims of child abuse.
Cases can take time to prepare and it is usual for the entire process to take over a year, however, the child abuse lawyer assigned to your case will regularly keep you up-to-date and informed as to how your case is progressing. In a high proportion of child abuse compensation claims a settlement is offered; this has the advantage that you will not need to give evidence in court. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such an offer and help you make you make the right choice for your abuse compensation claim if this arises.
One final point – if you decide you want to consult us, do it as soon as possible – do not let your abuse compensation claim run out of time.
Find out how we’ve helped our clients in the past, about our expertise in child abuse law, or speak to a child abuse lawyer now by phoning 020 8399 5272 or using the form to the right.
