What should I do after an assault if I want to make a criminal injuries claim in Western Australia

In Western Australia it is often the case that a person who is injured as a result of a crime such as an assault, burglary or serious criminal assault can make an application for criminal injuries compensation. The maximum amount payable for one event is $75,000.00. This money is paid out by the government who then choose whether to take recovery action against the offender. In this article I have provided information about what a person can do after a crime if they wish to make an application for criminal injuries compensation.

Seek Medical Attention

It is important that after a person has suffered an injury as a result of a crime, that they attend their general practitioner, and tell their GP in depth about the circumstances of the assault. The person injured as a result of an assault should consider doing this in addition to attending any hospital that they have attended as a result of their injuries from the assault.

Evidence of a general practitioner in a personal injury claim can be used for a variety of different reasons, these include:

• showing that the person injured in an assault actually suffered an injury;
• showing that the person injured in the assault has attempted to mitigate their loss by seeking appropriate medical treatment;
• providing an independent record of what the injured person is saying which can be used to bolster their credibility to a criminal injuries assessor.

Inform the Police

In order to be successful in an application for compensation the claimant should inform the police of the incident, and if necessary make a statement to the police. If you make a statement to the Police you should ask for a copy of that statement as it can be used as part of the application for criminal injuries compensation.

Generally if the Police decide to prosecute, the application will not be processed until such time as the criminal proceedings are concluded. The reason for this is that ordinarily if the person who did the assaulting is found to be not guilty then the injured person cannot make an application for compensation.

Foyle Legal is the Director of Foyle Legal. Foyle Legal specialises in the area of personal injury law on a no win no fee basis. You can find out more by clicking on the link below: http://foylelegal.com/