Child Abuse Claims

FAQs

• What qualifies as child abuse?

  Child abuse can take different forms, and it is not always easy to recognise at the time. It may involve a single incident, or a pattern of behaviour over weeks, months or years.

   It can include physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, and a child may experience more than one form of abuse at the same time.

  The effects can be long lasting and may continue into adulthood, which is why understanding what happened can be an important first step in seeking support and considering your legal options.

• What is physical child abuse?

  Physical child abuse is deliberately causing harm to a child through a physical action. The abuser’s aim is to hurt the child and, in extreme circumstances, can lead to the child’s death.

  Physical child abuse could also include the threat of injury to a child.

  Physical child abuse can include, but is not limited to:

  • Hitting, punching, slapping or kicking a child, including for the purpose of discipline
  • Breaking a child’s bones
  • Deliberately burning or scalding a child
  • Deliberately drowning, suffocating or choking a child
  • Giving a child harmful drugs or alcohol
  • Fabricating or inducing an illness or ill health; such as pretending the child has an illness and giving them drugs or medication they don’t need
  • Failing to protect a child from physical harm
  • Inappropriately restraining or falsely imprisoning a child
  • Shaking or hitting a baby. This can cause non-accidental head injuries and, in extreme cases, lead to the child’s death.

• What is child sexual abuse?

  Childhood sexual abuse occurs when a child is enticed or forced to take part in sexual activities. It is child sexual abuse even if the child isn’t aware of the nature of what is happening to them or if they go along with it without protest. Equally, it is child sexual abuse even if there is no threat of violence. It is important to note that child sexual abuse is often perpetrated by someone the child knows and trusts.

  Child sexual abuse encompasses a variety of acts that broadly fall under the following two categories:

  • When a child is made to take part in sexual activities, both physical and non-physical
  • When an individual commits sexual acts upon a child, whether forcefully or otherwise

   

  The following is a list of what constitutes child abuse of a sexual nature:

  • Grooming a child for future sexual abuse, including via the internet
  • Discussing sexually explicit topics with a child
  • ‘Sexting’ a child, or coercing a child to send inappropriate images of themselves
  • Taking inappropriate photographs or videos of a child
  • Showing sexually-explicit images or videos to a child
  • Physical contact, such as touching a child inappropriately
  • An adult exposing themselves to a child
  • Forcing, coercing, or grooming a child to engage in sexual behaviour like kissing and all forms of intercourse
  • Using young people under the age of 18 in prostitution
  • Female genital mutilation

• What is emotional child abuse?

  Emotional child abuse, or psychological child abuse, covers any abuse that negatively affects the child’s emotional and social development. Emotional child abuse can have a long-lasting impact on the child’s wellbeing. It can affect how they feel about themselves, how they fit in with friends and skew their perspective on what is normal in relationships. It’s important to note that all forms of child abuse involve emotional abuse on some level.

  Emotional abuse can take the form of:

  • Bullying a child, including cyberbullying
  • Constant or unjust punishment
  • Unnecessary or unrelenting criticism
  • Humiliation or telling a child they are worthless
  • Denying a child love and affection
  • Terrorising a child
  • Limiting the child’s exploration and learning
  • Not giving a child opportunity to express their views
  • Preventing a child from taking part in normal social interaction
  • Letting a child see or hear the ill-treatment of someone else. This might often be the case in a domestic violence situation
  • Being complicit when you see a child being mistreated

• What is child neglect?

  Child neglect occurs when an adult with responsibility over a child fails to meet their basic needs over an ongoing period. For example, the child might be left hungry, unwashed or uncared for. Children rely on adults to look after them, and if their physical or psychological needs are not being fulfilled, it can be damaging to the child’s development, and their emotional and physical wellbeing.

  One in ten children in the UK experience neglect in their lives. It is also frequently the case that a child who has been subject to neglect often undergoes other forms of abuse as well. Neglect can be intentional or unintentional, and both parents can be guilty of neglecting their child.

  Some forms of child neglect include, but are not limited to:

  • Neglect during pregnancy due to mother’s substance abuse or violence towards the mother during pregnancy
  • Failure to provide food, shelter, clothing or warmth, including throwing a young person out of the family home
  • Failure to seek or follow medical care for the child, including dental treatment
  • Failure to protect a child from physical or emotional harm or danger
  • Abandoning a child
  • Failure to provide appropriate supervision of a child, including making inadequate childcare arrangements
  • Unwillingness or inability to provide appropriate care for a child

• How do I make a child abuse claim?

  Every child abuse claim is unique and we’ll sensitively consider any information you share with us to help you get the best result. There are two main ways to seek compensation:

  1. Through the court system

  2. Through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

  In some cases, you can apply to both.

  Regardless of which route you choose to go down, here are the 6 main steps for making a claim:

  1. Get in touch

  For a free no obligation chat, contact our child abuse team on 020 7288 4800 or complete our online child abuse enquiry form.

  2. Funding options

  We’ll help you decide on the best funding arrangement for you, whether it’s ‘no win no fee’, legal expenses insurance or Legal Aid. We can also provide advice on partner organisations who can help.

  3. Records and documents

  If we think you have a claim, we will carry out initial enquiries and review documents including police statements, prosecution documents and social services records.

   4. Speak to witnesses

  We may also speak to witnesses if necessary and agreed by you.

   5. Letter of claim

  Once we have all the supporting evidence, we will draft a letter to the defendant setting out the detail of your claim.

  6. Expert opinion

  We will instruct a psychiatrist to interview you and provide a report for the case If we think your case will be supported by evidence from any other experts we will also arrange for you to see them and for them to provide a report on their opinion.

  Find out more about the child and adult abuse claims process here. You can also read information on how to report a case of child abuse to the police.

• What is the process for claiming child abuse compensation through the courts?

  Civil law cannot punish the abuser, as this is the job of the criminal courts. If compensation is awarded, insurance companies generally pay it. In order for a child abuse claim to be successful, we must first prove the abuse has in fact occurred and been the cause of your injuries or psychiatric condition. This may involve interviewing witnesses and examining a large number of documents (such as social services files).

  Claims are often defended vigorously and the defendant may try and restrict our access to relevant evidence. Quite often the passage of time in child abuse cases may result in records having been destroyed or mislaid. This is the reason why such cases can take one or two years to conclude (sometimes longer). If the police have not investigated the abuse, it is your choice whether or not you tell them now. Our specialist solicitors can discuss this with you. Some clear advantages are:

  • If the abuser is convicted of a criminal offence, it is more straightforward to obtain compensation as the abuse will already have been proved
  • The police have the best access to evidence, which can be used in your claim once criminal proceedings are over.

  Each case is different and yours will be assessed free of charge by a specialist child abuse solicitor to see if we can help. There are time limits for bringing claims through the courts but we can often work around those even if your case is technically ‘out of time’ due to it being a historic abuse claim.

• What is CICA?

  The CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) is a government-funded scheme which processes applications for compensation on behalf of victims of violent and sexual crime.

  In child abuse cases, it can provide a route to compensation where a civil claim is not possible or where compensation is not available through any other route. It is a separate scheme with its own legal rules and fixed awards, rather than compensation being assessed in the same way as a civil claim. For many survivors, it can therefore be an important alternative way of seeking recognition and financial redress.

• What is the process for claiming compensation through CICA?

  The CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) is a government-funded scheme which processes applications for compensation on behalf of victims of violent and sexual crime.

  Compensation from the CICA can be easier to obtain but is often less than you would get in a civil claim for damages. If at a later date you are also successful in a civil claim, normally any payment received from the CICA must be repaid.

  We can guide you through the process of claiming compensation through this scheme. This includes review applications and appeals against the decisions of caseworkers.

• Are there time limits for a case?

  The short answer is yes – time limits do apply to abuse claims. But this does not mean that you will not be able to claim compensation. Our abuse solicitors have substantial experience of working on claims involving abuse that occurred many years ago. It is very common for survivors of abuse not to report their experiences for years and sometimes decades after the traumatic events and the courts are sympathetic to this. We are frequently successful in persuading the courts to disallow the time limits if where we can put forward a compelling case.

• What happens if my claim is successful?

  If your claim is successful we will negotiate a financial settlement, that takes into account both the harm done and the financial losses which may have resulted from the abuse. If the abuse has prevented you from reaching your occupational potential, this will also be factored into your final compensation amount.

  Protecting your means-tested benefits

  Your financial circumstances change when you receive child abuse compensation. As a result, your means tested benefits may be at risk. You can protect your entitlement to your benefits and further benefit from compensation by setting up a trust. Our specialist child abuse solicitors will be happy to advise if this is applicable.

  Investment advice

  Investing your compensation requires careful thought and specialist advice. We work closely with reputable and professional financial advisors with extensive experience and knowledge of working alongside compensation award winners. We can make a personal recommendation and a referral to an appropriate adviser on request.

  Rehabilitation

  In many claims for child abuse compensation, your current quality of life and wellbeing may be improved by appropriate therapy and support services, including counselling or care. This is best given at the earliest opportunity, rather than waiting for the claim to be settled. We have arrangements with providers of therapy and other rehabilitation services to support as soon as possible.

• How much child abuse compensation will I get?

  The law can award damages for physical or psychological harm and for financial loss such as lost earnings, medical treatment, therapy, travel expenses, professional care or care from a friend or relative. The aim of compensation is to try and put you in the position you would have been in, if the abuse had not occurred.

  The key to any claim is evidence from independent medical experts, usually a psychiatrist in child abuse cases. He or she will interview you and prepare a report detailing the harm inflicted. Such reports enable courts to decide how much compensation you should receive. The amount the court will award will depend on the severity of the abuse, the length of time endured and the psychological problems resulting from it.

  In some cases evidence from other medical experts may be required in order to comment on physical injuries the abuse has caused. If your schooling has been affected and you haven’t been able to achieve your potential occupationally, we may need to instruct an educational psychologist. In some cases, loss of earnings can make up the largest part of a claim. We have succeeded in recovering damages for hundreds of thousands of pounds using such evidence.

• Will my claim be confidential?

  Your privacy is of the utmost importance to us. Throughout every stage of the legal process, we keep everything confidential and treat all documents in connection with your case as classified. Other ways we endeavour to protect your privacy include:

  • You can choose your preferred method of contact
  • We will always ask your permission to contact others about your case, including social services and the police
  • We can apply to the court to make your details confidential on court documents in connection with your claim
  • We can advise on the operation of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2002 which prohibits journalists printing details which could identify a victim of sexual abuse without their express consent
  • In our office, any documents we no longer need relating to your case are treated as ‘sensitive waste’ and destroyed.

  We are happy to discuss any concerns you may have about confidentiality at any point during the case.

• Who will pay my legal fees?

  If we think you have a strong claim, we will find a way to fund it for you. The 4 main funding options available are:

  1. ‘No win no fee’ agreement otherwise known as a Conditional Fee Agreement
  2. Legal Expenses Insurance
  3. Legal Aid
  4. Paying privately

  Find out more about your funding options and partner organisations who can help.

  We are quality approved to undertake legal aid work for child abuse compensation claims by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).  Bolt Burdon Kemp’s expert solicitors hold memberships with the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers (ACAL), the Law Society’s specialist Personal Injury Panel and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). We are also on the NAPAC panel.

  The legal costs associated with your child abuse claim include solicitor fees, barrister fees, experts’ fees, court fees and fees charged for obtaining records for your case. After winning a personal injury claim, the Defendant usually pays most, of your legal costs. Deciding how much the Defendant must pay can be a lengthy process. If we are unable to agree how much they must pay the court will decide. If a court decision is required, the process can take in excess of 6 months. We have a specialist team who work independently of our personal injury solicitors to ensure the costs process is dealt with speedily and to your advantage.