Civil claims against perpetrators


There is more detailed information about these types of cases in our Defamation Law - Frequently Asked Questions on the CWJ website, which also deals with civil claims against perpetrators at the end, Questions 39 to 46. 

If you want to bring a civil claim directly against a perpetrator for physical or sexual abuse, unfortunately a solicitor will only be likely to represent you if the perpetrator will be able to afford to pay your compensation and legal costs if you win the case, and would not be likely to refuse to pay, for example if his assets are abroad, or he may move abroad. This is because the solicitor would not be paid for their legal work otherwise. Alternatively, you may be able to afford to pay the solicitor for some limited work to see if the case may be settled out of court.

  • Chambers & Partners Directory
    For the most highly regarded solicitors search the Chambers and Partners Directory of top ranked firms and individuals doing a search on UK ‘Personal Injury: mainly claimant’. The Directory includes solicitors both with and without legal aid contracts.

  • Law Society
    You can also search on the Law Society website which includes all solicitors, whether they have a legal aid contract or not. Obtain a list of solicitors in different areas of law from the Law Societyand “Find a Solicitor” – search by area of law (personal injury) and location.

 

Legal aid

Where the civil claim is in relation to a sexual offence, legal aid is available under paragraph 39 Schedule 1 LASPO, which includes claims that are not against public bodies. Solicitors may not be familiar with paragraph 39 so it is worth mentioning this if your case comes within this description. 

However, even if you qualify financially for legal aid, it may be refused by the Legal Aid Agency if they believe that the perpetrator does not have enough money to pay your compensation and legal costs if you were to win the case, or that he would have enough money but may refuse to pay, for example if his assets are abroad, or he may move abroad.

You will need to find out if you qualify financially for legal aid.



 “No win no fee” agreement

If you do not qualify for legal aid, in some cases if your claim is clearly strong, you may be able to find a solicitor to take the case on a “no win no fee”. However you should be aware that this is more limited than legal aid, and you may still have to pay for court fees, expert fees and other fees which are not for the legal work. If a solicitor agrees to take a case on this basis they will explain the arrangements to you.

Many abuse claims are only for a personal injury, such as assault and psychiatric damage, and in this case you are protected from having to pay the other side’s costs if you lose, under special rules that apply only to personal injury claims. This enables your solicitor to represent you more easily than in other “no win no fee” cases.

 
 

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