You can sue someone for assault in the UK by bringing a civil claim for compensation, and you can do it whether or not the attacker is prosecuted, convicted, or even charged. A civil claim is your own action, aimed at getting money for your injuries and losses rather than putting anyone in prison. If the attacker has no money to pay a judgment, a separate government scheme called the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority may compensate you instead.
You Do Not Need a Criminal Conviction
A criminal prosecution is run by the Crown Prosecution Service, and you have no control over whether it happens. A civil claim is different. You bring it, you decide whether to settle, and the only outcome is money paid to you.
The evidence threshold is also lower. Criminal courts require proof beyond reasonable doubt. A civil court only needs to be satisfied on the balance of probabilities, meaning it is more likely than not that the assault happened. Plenty of assaults that never produce a criminal conviction still succeed as civil claims because the evidence clears the lower bar.
If there was a conviction, that helps you enormously. Under section 11 of the Civil Evidence Act 1968, the conviction is admissible in your civil case and the court presumes the person committed the offence unless they can prove otherwise.1Legislation.gov.uk. Civil Evidence Act 1968, Section 11 Without a conviction, you build the case from witness evidence, medical records, and documentation.
What You Can Claim For
Compensation splits into two categories, plus future losses where the harm is long-lasting.
General damages cover pain, suffering, and psychological injury such as anxiety or post-traumatic stress. They also cover loss of amenity — the ways your injuries stop you living your normal life, from sport you can no longer play to sleep you can no longer get in your own home. Courts assess these by comparing your injuries to guideline figures published by the Judicial College.
Special damages cover every financial cost you can put a figure on: lost earnings from time off work, prescriptions, private physiotherapy or counselling, travel to medical appointments, replacement of damaged clothing, glasses, or a phone, childcare you needed during recovery, and any home adaptations your injuries required. You must prove each pound with receipts, payslips, or bank statements.
Future losses apply where the assault has lasting effects. These include ongoing treatment, reduced earning capacity, and lost pension contributions, and they usually require medical and sometimes employment expert reports to project the numbers.
Evidence to Gather
Your claim is only as strong as what you can prove. Start early.
Get medical attention on the day, even if the injuries feel minor. Medical records create a professional, dated account that ties specific injuries to the incident. If your injuries are significant, your solicitor will arrange an independent medical expert to examine you and prepare a report for the court.
Report the assault to the police and keep the crime reference number. Even if the police do not prosecute, a prompt report shows you took the incident seriously. Take names and contact details of any witnesses while their memory is fresh.
Photograph your injuries the day of the assault and again as they heal. Photograph any damaged property. If there is CCTV at the location, ask the premises to preserve the footage before it is overwritten, which often happens within weeks.
For special damages, keep payslips showing your normal earnings alongside records of the time you missed work, plus receipts for every cost linked to the assault. A running spreadsheet is far easier than reconstruction months later.
How to Start the Claim
Before anything is filed at court, you must follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims. These are the steps the court expects both sides to take before litigation, and skipping them can be held against you.2Justice UK. Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims
The process opens with a formal letter of claim to the person who assaulted you, setting out what happened, your injuries, your financial losses, and your intention to seek compensation. The defendant has 21 days to acknowledge receipt and identify any insurer, then up to three months to investigate and respond with their position on liability.2Justice UK. Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims
Many claims settle at this stage. If the defendant denies liability or ignores the letter, the next step is filing a claim form at the civil court and paying a court fee that scales with the value of the claim. Claims worth up to £1,000 go to the small claims track with simpler procedures. Higher-value claims move to the fast track or multi-track, where legal representation matters more.
The Three-Year Deadline
You have three years from the date of the assault to issue court proceedings. This comes from the Limitation Act 1980, and courts enforce it strictly. Miss it and you lose the right to sue.3Abu Dhabi Global Market. Limitation Act 1980
If you were under 18 when it happened, the clock does not start until your 18th birthday, giving you until your 21st birthday to file. The same extension applies to anyone who lacked mental capacity at the time; the three years run only from when the disability ends.4Legislation.gov.uk. Limitation Act 1980, Section 28
Even inside the three years, delay hurts. Witnesses forget, CCTV gets deleted, and the medical link to a specific incident becomes harder to prove.
Paying a Solicitor
Most people sue for assault under a conditional fee agreement, better known as no win, no fee. You pay nothing upfront and nothing if the claim fails. If you win, the losing side pays most of your legal costs and a success fee is taken from your compensation to reflect the risk your solicitor took. That success fee is capped at 25% of the compensation awarded for general damages and past financial losses.
Your solicitor will usually also arrange after-the-event insurance, which covers the defendant’s legal costs if you lose so you are not left with the other side’s bill. The premium comes out of your compensation if you win.
One practical point solicitors weigh before taking a case: can the defendant actually pay? If the attacker has no income, no savings, and no property, a winning judgment can be worthless because there is nothing to collect. That single question drives much of the choice between a civil claim and the CICA route.
Getting Paid After You Win
A judgment does not put money in your account by itself. If the defendant does not pay, you apply to the court for enforcement, and the right method depends on their circumstances.
- An attachment of earnings order directs the defendant’s employer to deduct money from their wages and send it to you. It only works if they are employed, and the debt must be at least £50.5GOV.UK. Attachment of Earnings Order Guidance
- A warrant of control sends court bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers to seize and sell the defendant’s belongings.
- A third party debt order freezes money in the defendant’s bank account and redirects it to you.
- A charging order places a charge on property the defendant owns, so your debt gets paid when they sell it.
If the defendant is self-employed, unemployed, or has no assets worth chasing, enforcement gets difficult. An attachment of earnings order cannot be used against someone self-employed or unemployed.5GOV.UK. Attachment of Earnings Order Guidance Where the attacker has nothing, the CICA is the more realistic route.
The CICA Alternative
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority is a government-funded scheme that compensates victims of violent crime in Great Britain, and it exists for exactly the situations where suing the attacker is not realistic.6GOV.UK. Criminal Injuries Compensation – A Guide You do not sue anyone. You apply directly to the CICA, and they decide whether you qualify and how much you get.
Who Qualifies
You must have reported the assault to the police as soon as reasonably practicable. If you delayed, the CICA will ask why and consider your age, wellbeing, and the nature of the incident. Without a police report, no payment is made.6GOV.UK. Criminal Injuries Compensation – A Guide
Your own record can also affect the claim. Unspent convictions that resulted in a custodial sentence, community order, or youth rehabilitation order will cause the CICA to refuse your claim outright. Less serious unspent convictions may reduce the award, though minor road traffic offences that only produced penalty points or a fine are excluded from this rule.7GOV.UK. Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012
How Much You Get
CICA awards follow a fixed tariff rather than the individual assessment used in a civil claim. Payments range from £1,000 at the lowest band to £250,000 for the most catastrophic injuries.8GOV.UK. Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme – Injury Payments Some examples:
- Disabling mental injury lasting 6 to 28 weeks: £1,000
- Fractured jaw with substantial recovery: £1,500
- Significant facial scarring: £2,400
- Fractured femur with continuing disability: £4,600
- Serious facial scarring: £11,000
- Permanent seriously disabling mental injury: £27,000
Where there are multiple injuries, the CICA pays 100% of the highest-value injury, 30% of the second, and 15% of the third. Nothing is paid beyond the third injury.8GOV.UK. Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme – Injury Payments
CICA Deadlines
Adults have two years from the incident to apply. For under-18s the rule turns on when the incident reached the police. If it was reported before your 18th birthday, you have until your 20th birthday to apply. If it was first reported after you turned 18, you have two years from that first police report. A parent or guardian can apply for a child at any point within these limits.6GOV.UK. Criminal Injuries Compensation – A Guide
Civil Claim or CICA
The two routes are not mutually exclusive, but running both at once needs care because the CICA deducts any compensation you receive through a civil claim. A civil claim can produce higher compensation, particularly where lost earnings and future losses are significant, because it is not capped by a tariff. The CICA route is simpler, avoids facing the attacker in court, and does not depend on their finances. If the attacker has steady earnings or owns property, a civil claim is usually the stronger option. If the attacker is unknown, untraceable, or has nothing to take, the CICA is what the scheme was built for.