Compensation For Victims Of Crime – Court Awards Victim

If you have been a victim of crime, see a solicitor to check whether you can claim compensation. There is some satisfaction in seeing the guilty punished but sometimes that is not enough.

In this case, a step-father had been abusive and violent towards his step-daughter, including threatening her with a jar of spiders and making her write him love letters and raping her when she was just 9 years old. Although she was now in her fifties, the abuse had begun when she was aged just 3 and was on a daily basis. He also beat her and told her that she had to do as she was told or he would send her to a children’s home.

The woman had suffered over the years with mental health issues including an eating disorder and a complete nervous breakdown, she also suffered from nightmares, low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. Years later she reported her step-father to the police and in due course, he was found guilty and sent to prison for a considerable time.

The woman consulted solicitors and she made a claim for damages against the guilty man and was awarded the total of her claim by the court who acknowledged that the treatment of her by her step-father had impacted her life significantly including educational opportunities and later her career. Fortunately, she had a steady relationship and had a child.

She was awarded a total of £590,000 which included sums for the potential loss of income, the suffering she endured both physically and psychologically along with a sum for counseling to enable her to get the best out of life that she can. The man was also ordered to pay the legal costs of £113,842.

If you have been a victim of a crime and believe you are owed compensation then please contact us by telephone at our Corby office on 01536 276300 or call our Kettering office on 01536 311690 or simply get in touch online by clicking here.