Page 15 - PIC Magazine-Issue-27-Autumn-Winter

2
Inadequate Compensation Level: Where a victim
might have received north of £10m in the personal
injury claims process, CICA claimants are capped at £500k,
and with lawyers typically charging 25% plus VAT that
could leave just £350k for a life changing injury. To call it
compensation seems cruel.
3
The "Three-Injury" Limit & Payout De-escalation:
A major structural deficiency in the scheme is that
survivors are restricted to claiming for a maximum of three
injuries, regardless of the actual volume of trauma inflicted.
Even within this limit, financial redress drops exponentially:
First (Most Severe) Injury: Paid at 100%
of the tariff rate.
Second Injury: Paid at 30% of the tariff rate.
Third Injury: Paid at 15% of the tariff rate.
Additional Injuries: 0% is paid for any remaining
injuries, leaving complex multi-trauma patients financially
unsupported as they transition to life with a disability.
“I received over 40 injuries, but I can only claim for three.
It’s like they don’t believe a word that you’re saying.”
May 22, 2017, Joanne McSorley, 52, and her mother were
waiting to collect her daughters from an Ariana Grande
concert at Manchester Arena unaware that, just 15 feet
away, Salman Abedi was about to detonate a bomb. The
blast left Joanne with life-changing injuries and she spent
the next three months in hospital. Almost a decade later,
she still cannot work or walk long distances and relies on
a wheelchair or mobility scooter.
4
Administrative Intrusion During Acute Care:
A “You prove it” mentality born out of protecting
against fraudulent claims requires patients to provide
evidence often whilst still in hospital of their wounds
and circumstances.
“Even if you receive compensation, it makes you feel
like you’re a benefits scrounger, like you’re trying to get
around the system.” Darryn Frost, 45, directly intervened
during the 2019 Fishmongers' Hall / London Bridge
terror attack.
5
Bereavement and the Economic Realities of Grief:
For families who lose a loved one, statutory CICA
payouts are critically low, providing just £11,000 for a
single applicant, which shrinks to £5,500 each if multiple
family members apply. Furthermore, the scheme caps all
funeral expenses at a flat £5,000.
Data compiled by the campaign network Survivors
Against Terror highlights the systemic nature of
these issues: a striking 9% of applicants deemed the
CICA process "reasonable," and a mere 7% felt it was
sympathetic to their needs.
The MTSP supports patients with free bedside advice
about the CICA scheme as well as free initial legal advice.
Whilst the scheme is intended to be self managed by the
injury victim, many choose to pay for legal representation
to guide them through the complexities of the process.
The MTSP have negotiated heavily reduced CICA fees and
for victims of terror such as Southport, Manchester and
London Bridge MTSP patients have received completely
free legal support when pursuing CICA claims.
Part of FTG Advisory How Might
The System
Be Improved?
Speaking to The Telegraph
newspaper in 2025, Alex
Davies-Jones, then the
Parliamentary Under Secretary
of State for Victims and
Violence against Women
and Girls said it was “clear”
that CICA was not working
as it should for victims and
survivors. “It is in urgent need
of fundamental reform to
ensure the system is fairer,
more effective, and properly
supports those it is meant to
serve.” She resigned in May
2026. The Ministry of Justice
also said it was aware that
applying for compensation
through CICA could be
“deeply difficult” and it made
“every effort to communicate
sensitively and accurately”.
1. Increase the Statutory
Financial Cap
The upper limit of £500k was
set in 1996 and must now be
reviewed. To simply account
for inflation and costs of
healthcare, the upper limit
should today be well over £1
million. £5m would be a good
starting point.
2. Transitioning to Personal
Injury Frameworks
CICA uses rigid legal
categories rather than a
holistic, clinical appraisal of a
patient’s functional impairment
and needs, compensating
victims along the same
principals they would expect
via standard, insurance-
based civil claims which fully
recognises the impact on the
person and their life.
The concept of being
compensated at 30% for your
second most severe injury is
illogical and cruel.
3. Ring-Fenced Provision
for Enhanced Private
Rehabilitation
Lacking dedicated funding for
immediate rehabilitation, the
scheme forces patients to rely
on an overstretched NHS or
deplete personal savings for
private therapy.
Mirroring the civil personal
injury sector, the scheme
could offer victims immediate
access to private rehabilitation
support, independent of any
final lump-sum award.
4. Abolishing the 28-Week
Income Protection Delay
Withholding loss-of-earnings
support for 28 weeks before
paying a flat Statutory Sick Pay
rate of £123.25 weekly creates
immediate financial crises for
working families. This 28-
week rule should be removed,
mandating state-backed
income replacement from the
day full employer pay ceases.
5. Establishing a Dedicated
Mass-casualty Terrorism Fund
Lumping terrorism survivors
into a generic violent crime
scheme is a structural failure
that ignores the unique, severe,
and widespread psychological
trauma of mass-casualty
events.
The state should establish a
dedicated, rapid compensation
pathway for terror victims. By
adopting a trauma-informed
"presumption of eligibility,"
this system would remove the
humiliating burden of proof
and deliver immediate support
prior to final compensation.
6. Free Legal Support
The complex and traumatising
process is intended to be
self-service, but most victims
require legal support unless
injuries are minor. Lawyers
typically charge a 25% + VAT
success fee from the award,
further reducing already pitiful
compensation.
CICA claimants should receive
free legal advice through
tiered lawyer payments based
on work completed, similar
to personal injury Fixed
Recoverable Fee structures.
7. Funding Challenge
All of the above will have
associated costs. One obvious
source of income is the
Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA)
which currently generates
over £250m per year 50%
of which is returned to the
Home Office and 50% to the
operational agencies involved
in the recovery. As victims of
crime using these funds to
compensate its victims would
be a natural fit.
Partners In Costs - Your Costs Experts
15