Fatal Criminal Injury Compensation (UK)

Understand how fatal criminal injury compensation is assessed under the CICA scheme, including qualifying relatives, bereavement, dependency, funeral payments, evidence and time limits.

Fatal criminal injury compensation may be available where a person dies as a direct result of injuries caused by a qualifying crime of violence. The Scheme contains separate provisions for bereavement, dependency, children’s payments and funeral expenses.

CICA applies specific rules to the violent incident, the cause of death, the applicant’s relationship with the deceased and the particular payment being considered.

The assessment may involve police and medical information, evidence connecting the death to the incident, and records showing the relevant relationship or dependency. Scheme eligibility and the circumstances of each application are considered individually.

General information only. This website does not provide legal advice, assess claims, or act on behalf of individuals.

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FEATURED INFORMATION

Fatal criminal injury compensation applications may involve separate rules for qualifying relatives, bereavement, dependency, children’s payments, funeral expenses and evidence linking the death to the violent incident.

What fatal criminal injury compensation involves

A fatal criminal injury compensation application concerns a death directly resulting from injuries sustained in a qualifying crime of violence. The death may occur immediately or later because of the injuries sustained.

The application is considered according to the circumstances of the violent incident, the connection between the injuries and the death, and the applicant’s relationship with the deceased.

Relevant information may include:

When and where the violent incident occurred
When the incident was reported to the police
The injuries sustained and the recorded cause of death
Whether the death occurred immediately or at a later date
The applicant’s relationship with the deceased
Whether relationship, cohabitation or dependency conditions apply
Whether payments concerning a child or parental services are relevant
Whether funeral expenses were incurred and properly documented
The available police, medical and other official evidence
The applicable Scheme rules and application time limits

Bereavement, dependency, child and funeral payments are governed by different conditions. A person may meet the requirements for one payment without qualifying for every other payment connected with the same death.

A criminal conviction is not always required, but CICA must have enough information to establish that the death resulted from a qualifying crime of violence covered by the Scheme.

Common fatal criminal injury scenarios

Applications may arise from qualifying violence involving:

Fatal attacks involving a knife
Fatal attacks involving a firearm
Fatal assaults where no weapon was used
Death resulting from domestic abuse
Fatal attacks involving another weapon
Death following a violent robbery
Death occurring later because of the injuries sustained
Incidents where the offender remains unidentified

Who may be a qualifying relative

The Scheme uses a specific legal definition rather than including every relative of the deceased. It may cover:

A spouse or civil partner living with the deceased
A partner who met the two-year continuous cohabitation requirement
A qualifying spouse, civil partner or partner living apart because of ill-health or infirmity
A spouse, civil partner or former spouse or civil partner who was financially dependent on the deceased
A parent of the deceased
A child of the deceased, including an adult child

The conditions applying to each relationship must still be established. A person may qualify for one type of payment without qualifying for every payment connected with the death.

What can affect an application

Factors that may affect how fatal criminal injury compensation is assessed include:

The circumstances of the violent incident
Whether the death resulted directly from the injuries
Whether death occurred immediately or at a later date
The applicant’s relationship with the deceased
The particular payment being considered
Whether cohabitation or dependency conditions are satisfied
The available police, medical and relationship evidence
Whether reporting and time-limit rules were met

Common issues in fatal injury applications

Issues that may affect how an application progresses include:

Unclear evidence linking the death to the violent incident
Difficulty establishing qualifying-relative status
Relationship or cohabitation conditions not being evidenced
Financial or physical dependency not established
Funeral expenses not being supported by satisfactory records
Delayed reporting of the incident to the police
Several relatives potentially qualifying for different payments
An application being affected by time limits or other Scheme rules

CICA considers the circumstances of the violent death alongside the applicant’s relationship with the deceased, the payment being considered and the available supporting evidence. Each payment is assessed under the relevant requirements of the Scheme.

FEATURED INFORMATION

Qualifying-relative status, the relevant payment category and evidence connecting the death or dependency to the violent incident may all require separate consideration.

How fatal criminal injury compensation is assessed

Fatal criminal injury compensation is assessed by considering whether the person died as a direct result of a qualifying crime of violence and whether the applicant meets the requirements for the particular payment being considered.

The assessment may include:

The circumstances of the violent incident
Information obtained from the police and investigation records
The injuries sustained and the medical cause of death
The connection between the incident and a later death
The applicant’s relationship with the deceased
Whether qualifying-relative conditions are satisfied
The relevant bereavement, dependency, child or funeral payment
Evidence of financial or physical dependency
Evidence concerning the loss of parental services
Funeral expenses and responsibility for those costs
The number of relatives eligible for the relevant payment
Applicable conduct, conviction and other Scheme rules

CICA may request further police, medical, relationship or financial information before reaching a decision.

The evidence is considered under the Scheme as a whole. The criminal charge recorded against an offender does not by itself determine whether a fatal injury payment can be made.

Eligibility for fatal criminal injury compensation

Eligibility for fatal criminal injury compensation depends on the circumstances of the death and the requirements applying to the particular payment requested.

Relevant principles include:

The death must result from a qualifying crime of violence
The incident must fall within the geographical scope of the Scheme
The applicant must meet the rules for the payment being considered
Bereavement and dependency payments require qualifying-relative status
Relationship, cohabitation or dependency conditions may need to be established
A child’s payment requires the relevant parental-services conditions to be met
A funeral payment does not require qualifying-relative status and is governed by separate rules
The incident must normally be reported to the police without unreasonable delay
Cooperation, residency and nationality requirements may apply
Conduct and relevant conviction rules may affect a payment

The offender does not necessarily need to be identified, charged or convicted. CICA must still be satisfied from the available evidence that the death resulted from a qualifying violent incident.

Meeting the requirements for one payment category does not automatically establish eligibility for every other payment arising from the same death.

Evidence commonly considered

The information for fatal criminal injury compensation required will depend on the relationship with the deceased and the payment being considered.

Evidence may include:

Police crime reference details and information obtained from the police
Medical records relating to the injuries and death
The death certificate and recorded cause of death
Post-mortem, coroner or inquest information where relevant
Marriage or civil-partnership records
Evidence of the required period of cohabitation
Birth certificates or other parental records
Financial records showing material dependency
Care or medical records supporting physical dependency
Information concerning the loss of parental services
Funeral invoices, receipts and payment records
Evidence showing who paid or became responsible for funeral costs
Additional documents requested by CICA

Not every document will be required in every application. The evidence must be sufficient to establish the relevant relationship, loss, expense or connection between the violent incident and the death.

CICA may obtain information directly from the police and ask the applicant to provide other documents needed for the assessment.

What outcomes may include

A decision for fatal criminal injury compensation may address one or more separate payment categories arising from the same fatal incident.

Possible outcomes include:

A bereavement payment to an eligible qualifying relative
A financial dependency payment
A physical dependency payment
A child’s payment for loss of parental services
Reasonable expenses arising from the loss of parental services
A payment towards eligible funeral expenses
A request for additional supporting information
Further enquiries before a final decision
A reduced or withheld payment where permitted by the Scheme
A decision that no payment can be made
A review and subsequent appeal where the relevant procedures apply

Different requirements apply to each payment. One applicant may qualify for one category without qualifying for the others.

Where several qualifying relatives exist, the number and status of those relatives can affect the treatment of bereavement or dependency payments under the Scheme. This does not mean that every relative receives the same payment.

A bereavement payment is a payment provided under the Scheme following an eligible death. It should not be understood as placing a financial value on the person who died.

Time limits

A fatal criminal injury compensation application must normally be received as soon as reasonably practicable and within two years of the incident that caused the criminal injury.

For fatal cases, the ordinary period generally runs from the date of the violent incident. It does not automatically begin again from the date of death where the person dies later from the injuries.

Important points include:

A later death does not automatically create a new two-year period
Funeral payment applications follow the general Scheme time-limit framework
Special provisions may apply where the applicant was under 18 at the time of the incident
A person with parental responsibility may apply on behalf of a child
There is no need to wait for a police investigation or criminal trial to finish
Coroner or inquest material may be provided when it becomes available
An extension requires exceptional circumstances
The available evidence must allow the application to be determined without further extensive enquiries

Applications should therefore be made without unnecessary delay. Waiting for the criminal proceedings to conclude can place an application outside the normal period.

Extensions are not automatic. This page cannot determine whether the circumstances of a particular delay would meet the Scheme requirements.

Fatal criminal injury compensation involve several connected requirements. The circumstances of the death, qualifying-relative rules, payment category, evidence, eligibility and time limits are considered together.

FEATURED INFORMATION

Bereavement, dependency, child and funeral payments have separate requirements, and the relationship, loss or expense relevant to each payment must be established.

Final notes

Fatal criminal injury compensation does not automatically create an entitlement for every relative. Bereavement and dependency payments are limited by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme’s qualifying-relative definition and the conditions applying to the payment concerned.

Different requirements apply to bereavement, financial dependency, physical dependency, children’s payments and funeral expenses. Qualification for one category does not automatically establish eligibility for another.

Evidence may be required to establish the relationship with the deceased, any relevant dependency or expense, and the medical connection between the violent incident and the death. This may be particularly important where the death occurred sometime after the original injuries.

An application is not automatically prevented because the offender remains unidentified or nobody is charged or convicted. CICA must nevertheless be satisfied that the death resulted from a qualifying crime of violence.

Every application is considered individually under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

For a broader overview of related cases, visit the Criminal Injuries Compensation (CICA) (UK) page.

For official information about qualifying relatives, bereavement, dependency, children’s payments and funeral expenses, refer to Criminal injuries compensation: a guide (official Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority guidance – opens an external website).

Further Guidance

Fatal criminal injury compensation form part of the wider Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme where a person dies as a result of qualifying violence. Related guidance explains how fatal incidents may arise from assault, domestic abuse, knife crime and other forms of violent crime considered under the Scheme.

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