After a serious assault, you need to know where you stand. If you have suffered a head injury or brain injury, you may need help from others close to you whilst you are recovering from your ordeal. If you are the innocent victim you may be entitled to assistance from the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (“CICA”). However, there are a few pointers that you need to bear in mind from an early stage if you find yourself in this situation.
- Getting medical help is always the top priority. If you did not receive immediate medical treatment in hospital, make sure that you visit your doctor to ensure that you get checked out, and receive the right medical advice.
- If you are told that you may have suffered from a head injury, ask if the doctor or hospital can provide you with further information about what a head injury means for you. You may be given a head injury observation sheet for when you leave hospital for things to look out for and report to the doctor if problems arise.
- Make sure that the incident has been reported to the police. The criminal injury scheme requires that the assault is reported as soon as possible, so that the police can investigate.
- If the police need your help, try to co-operate as best as you can. It may be that initially you are not well enough to give a detailed statement, or due to retro-grade or post traumatic amnesia, you may have difficulty remembering the incident. If so your treating doctor or therapist should be able to explain this to the police. The criminal injury scheme requires that you co-operate with official enquiries to help bring the offender to justice.
- Contact victim support for more information and advice if you feel unsure or confused about any part of the process after an assault. For example, the police may want you to attend at court if the offender is court and charged with an offence. Victim Support is an independent charity and may be able to offer information and advice. More details can be found at www.victimsupport.org.uk
- When you feel well enough, seek legal advice. You may not feel up to it, in which case it may be possible for you to ask a close relative or friend who you trust to make enquiries on your behalf. It is generally much better to seek advice sooner rather than later- it will help any investigations proceed more smoothly and quickly.
- Keep notes of who you have contact with and what they do. You may not feel up to this, and someone might be able to do this for you. After a serious assault, you might have contact with lots of different people and it is useful to have their names and numbers listed, for example police officers, therapists, victim support and solicitors.
- If possible, it’s a good idea to keep a diary. Again, you may not be well enough and someone else might help with this – recording details of appointments and making short notes on your progress.
- If for suffer from ongoing symptoms, ask about where you might get further care or rehabilitation. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a specialist head injury service as an out patient. You might need to contact your local social services if you think that you will need regular help with daily care or activities.
- Certain charities and other organisations produce excellent fact-sheets and guides on different aspects of head and brain injury. For example, Headway – the Brain Injury Association produce helpful information sheets on a wide range of topics such as returning to driving and returning to work after head injury. Most major brain injury support groups and charities have helpline numbers and websites.
- There may be local head injury support groups in your area that you or your family could visit or get involved with. There is more information on our support groups page.
- You might be worried about your finances. If you have appointed a solicitor, or have contact with a social worker, talk to them about your worries, they may be able to point you in the right direction. In certain cases you might qualify for state benefits because of your injuries - learn about interim payments that may be available.