Physical Sexual Abuse Claim Payout Tables 2026
In this article – you will discover how much compensation you can claim for both physical and sexual abuse.
We describe how your solicitor uses expert medical evidence to show your physical and psychological injury coupled with the aggravating factors that may enhance your claim payout.
In addition, you can access our compensation payout tables – both for the civil courts and for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
- Physical Sexual Abuse Claim Payout Tables 2026
- Payouts Table 2026 For Physical / Sexual Abuse Claims
- Table Of Criminal Injury Abuse Claim Settlements
- How does your solicitor determine how much you can claim for abuse?
- What factors can make the physical and sexual abuse payout larger?
- What are punitive damages?
- Compensation Payout Calculations For Civil Court Physical And Sexual Abuse Claims
- Criminal injury compensation payouts for abuse via the CICA
- Additional compensation for sexual abuse criminal injury claims
- Free Legal Help And Assistance
Payouts Table 2026 For Physical / Sexual Abuse Claims
This table relates to payments that can be achieved for pain and suffering in the civil courts via both trespass to the person claims and claims of negligence.
| Physical / Sexual Abuse | Claim Payout Amounts (Civil Courts) |
|---|---|
| Short-lived abuse | £12,000 – £25,000 |
| Moderate abuse | £25,000 – £55,000 |
| Severe abuse | £55,000 – £183,000 |
Table Of Criminal Injury Abuse Claim Settlements
The payout tables below set out compensation payouts via the criminal injuries tariff scheme. The first table sets out the general payment for abuse. Whereas, the second table describes additional sums that can be added to the general award.
| Physical / Sexual Abuse | Criminal Injury Payment |
|---|---|
| All types of criminal injury abuse | £1,000 – £44,000 |
| Aggravating Issue Of Abuse | Additional Payment |
|---|---|
| Pregnancy | £5,500 |
| Loss of foetus | £5,500 |
| Sexually transmitted infection | £5,500 – £11,000 |
| HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C | £22,000 |
Criminal Injury Claim Payouts Differ Than Civil Court Claims
Criminal injury claims are generally made via the CICA (Criminal Injuries Claims Authority).
However, the amount of compensation awarded is subject to a tariff scheme that is typically far less generous than the payouts you can recover via a personal injury claim in the civil courts.
How does your solicitor determine how much you can claim for abuse?
Your solicitor will instruct medical experts to compile reports describing both physical and sexual injuries coupled with psychological injuries.
These reports are known as medico-legal reports. They typically conclude with a prognosis, setting out any future effects from the abuse you have experienced.
Thereafter, your solicitor refers to judicial guidance and claims decided by the courts in the past for payout amounts for similar injuries.
Injuries Are Rarely Identical To Claims Of The Past
Your solicitor will typically come up with a range of values for your compensation payouts.
It is very rare that both all the circumstances and injuries will be identical to any in previous claims.
Thus, payout calculation is not an exact science and a range of values will typically be put to you.
Should your claim be made via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and not the civil courts – the compensation awards are decided by a tariff scheme (see later).
What factors can make the physical and sexual abuse payout larger?
Factors that might affect the compensation payout you may be awarded, include:
The nature, duration and severity of the abuse
The type and degree of abuse will have an effect on your likely compensation payout.
The abuse could be repeated over many years, may include more than one person and involve more serious types of physical or sexual act.
Abuse that extends over a longer time period and is more severe in nature will attract more compensation than isolated or temporary short-lived less severe abuse.
The extent of physical injuries
In general – the worse your injuries are, the more compensation you can claim.
Injuries might include:
- Burns.
- Wounds.
- Hair pulled from the scalp.
- Bruising.
- Disfigurement.
Injuries From Sexual Assault
Sexual assault can also lead to addition injuries, such as: internal bodily injuries, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.
The extent of psychological injury
You can claim compensation if the abuse you experience is purely psychological
Physical Abuse May Have Associated Psychological Injury
Watch out – physical abuse will likely cause some psychological injury in additional to physical injuries
So long as your psychological injury is caused by the abuse, the more serious the psychological injury and the more permanent in nature it might be – the larger the likely compensation sums you will receive
Responsiveness to treatment and future vulnerability
If treatment is unlikely to help reduce psychological injury and you are more vulnerable in the future – your compensation award is likely to be higher.
Effects on education, ability to work and relationships
Clearly abuse can affect your educational attainment – especially if it occurs whilst you are a child. It may have an effect on your ability to hold down a job or progress at work.
The ability to have relationships will often be affected by the abuse you have experienced.
The worse the effect on these areas of your life – the more your compensation payout award is likely to be.
Manipulation, humiliation, distress, anger and need to relive events
If the offender manipulated you to believe the abuse was in some way your fault; you feel humiliation, distress and anger from the abuse or you are forced to relive events by having to give evidence at court – you may be entitled to aggravated damages.
Aggravated damages allow an increase to the amount of compensation you may have recovered for pain and suffering.
What are punitive damages?
Depending on the abuser – the court might agree to punitive damages (known as exemplary damages).
This will be an extra sum of compensation awarded to punish a wrong doer and so discourage further acts.
This might be the case if the wrongdoer was a business that was making extra profit by covering up abuse allegations.
Compensation Payout Calculations For Civil Court Physical And Sexual Abuse Claims
This section gives examples of compensation payouts for abuse claims decided by the civil courts.
Claim For Financial Loss And Expense
Payout calculations set out below are for your pain, suffering and loss of amenity only.
However, you may be able to claim in addition financial loss and expense as a direct result of your injuries.
Short-lived abuse
The abuse you experience is isolated or short in duration, not so severe and with treatment leads to psychological recovery. Generally – your likely abuse compensation payout will be between £12,000 – £25,000.
Moderate Abuse
This is where the abuse is worse in nature with longer lasting effects than that set out in the short-lived abuse section. Notably the psychological reaction is not so pronounced as in the severe abuse section to follow. Compensation payments are likely to be calculated between £25,000 – £55,000.
Most severe abuse
In the most severe cases – you will have experienced the worst types of abuse resulting in significant psychological injury. You will likely struggle to have personal relationships coupled with finding both education and work difficult. These types of severe abuse claim will generally result in a payout between £55,000 – £183,000.
Criminal injury compensation payouts for abuse via the CICA
If the claim is against an individual who does not have the means to pay and the police believe a crime of violence or abuse occurred – your solicitor is likely to make a criminal injuries claim via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority / CICA.
Physical and sexual abuse criminal injury payments
Payments for abuse via the criminal injuries compensation authority can vary, but at present are calculated between £1,000 – £44,000.
Additional compensation for sexual abuse criminal injury claims
There may also be additional compensation payments as a direct result of sexual assault, including:
Becoming pregnant
Should you have become pregnant as a direct result of sexual abuse you can be awarded an additional compensation payout of £5,500.
Loss of foetus
You might lose a foetus by either abuse or by the acts of violence, in which case the additional compensation award will be £5,500.
Sexually transmitted infections
Should you catch a sexually transmitted infection from sexual abuse you could be awarded an additional compensation payout of £5,500 – £11,000.
HIV, Hepatitis B or C are considered more severe conditions and as such result in larger additional compensation payments.
Infection with HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C
Should you catch more significant infections – namely HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C, you can receive additional compensation of £22,000.
Infections From Other Violent Act
It is not only sexual abuse that can cause HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C infections.
Therefore, you may be entitled to an additional payment should you catch an infection as a direct result of some other form of crime of violence.
Free Legal Help And Assistance
We appreciate that you may wish to have a discussion before deciding whether to make a physical or sexual abuse claim.
Hence, why we offer free online and telephone help options.
You can not only call us direct to discuss, but also ask a question or arrange a callback at your convenience.
