How Much Compensation Do You Get For Assault?

Have you been physically assaulted? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for physical or physiological injury. A personal injury attorney can help you make your case and get all of the compensation you are due for your trauma, as well as payment to cover medical bills and counselling if necessary. 

How much compensation do you get for physical or sexual assault? There are many factors that play into the number you might be awarded, and you may be able to receive a sizable settlement without even going to court. 

The steps you take starting directly after an assault occurs are important, so it’s a good thing to know what to do in advance so you can follow through with these steps, even if you are reeling in the aftermath of the attack.

What to do in case of an assault

The first thing you should do if you have been assaulted is to report the assault to the relevant authorities, as well as any other persons who should be alerted. For example, if you are assaulted in your place of work, there are various steps to take:

Reporting workplace assault

First, if you have been seriously injured or if there are any marks on you, you should seek medical care. Make sure any evidence of the assault is preserved, and document any marks on your body with photographs. 

If you have suffered a sexual assault, you will want to ask for a rape kit to be completed so any evidence can be handed over to the police. You should report a sexually based workplace assault right away, so you have a police report detailing the attack. 

If you were physically battered, the same rules apply for seeking medical care and filing a police report. Again, make sure all evidence is documented and bruises, scratches or cuts are photographed. Make copies so you have your own file.

If your case is sexual harassment and you haven’t had hands laid on your person, you may still have a case, but it could be civil in nature. For both civil and criminal workplace assault, you should report to human resources and any supervisors.

You have rights and should not allow anyone in authority over you in a company to object to your seeking medical attention or notifying the police. 

If you don’t feel safe reporting a workplace assault to your superior due to fears of retaliation, or if the assault was perpetrated by your superior, we can help you. We’ll walk you through the steps to file an assault compensation claim, and be with you every step of the way. 

Wondering how much compensation you can claim for an assault at work? It all depends on how severe your injuries are, how much money you lose by having to miss work, what your medical bills are, and how much you might get for pain and suffering if the assault was especially violent or egregious.

Reporting a crime

Other types of assault may need to follow a slightly different pattern — for example, in cases of domestic violence. If you’ve suffered a criminal injury meted out by someone in your own household, you may hesitate to report it until you can get to somewhere you feel safe. 

Still document your injuries and keep a record of the assault or assaults. Seek out help if you can escape to a safe place, then take your documentation to the police. Remember that you have rights, and don’t allow people to talk you out of seeking justice. 

Violent crime compensation claims may take a little longer than other types of personal injury claims. The steps for reporting a crime must be followed, and you may not be able to file a civil assault compensation claim until the criminal matter has been settled.

Typically, you’ll be required to file an assault claim within three years of the assault or three years of the most recent assault if you were repeatedly assaulted by the same person and suffered a personal injury.

If the perpetrator is someone you know and they are not arrested and locked away where they can’t hurt you again, document any threats made to you or stalking as these details speak to a pattern of abuse.

Reporting a crime ensures there is a specific record on file of the assault, and this can work in your favour if you are forced to go to court to prove your claim for compensation. If there were any witnesses to the assault, gather as much information as you can about them and what they saw.

Filing for victim compensation

If you’re a victim of sexual abuse or suffered a personal injury due to family violence, then you may have specific rights to compensation through a statutory scheme. All areas of Australia have some form of compensation scheme set up to ensure victims receive recognition of their trauma.  

Compensation to a victim can be paid out via such a scheme, and it doesn’t affect your right to file a civil assault compensation claim against someone who assaulted you, nor does it keep you from receiving restitution from an offender who is sentenced to pay you for the trauma they caused you.

If you’re a victim of sexual abuse or suffered a personal injury due to family violence, then you may have specific rights to compensation through a statutory scheme. All areas of Australia have some form of compensation scheme set up to ensure victims receive recognition of their trauma.  

Compensation to a sexual assault survivor or victim of family violence can be paid out via such a scheme. These funds for paying victim compensation provide for cases when there is no way to get other restitution. However, you can win much more by going the civil route if possible, so don’t miss the chance to file with an assault solicitor from Gerard Malouf & Partners.

You might have received a judgment in your favour in a civil claim, or the offender might have been ordered to pay you as part of their sentencing, but if they cannot pay it can be difficult or impossible to get what you are due.

However, getting this payment doesn’t affect your right to file a civil assault compensation claim against someone who assaulted you, nor does it keep you from receiving restitution from an offender who is sentenced to pay you for the trauma they caused you.

Making a personal injury compensation claim

Making a personal injury claim starts with picking up the phone and calling an assault claims attorney. Our personal injury lawyers are trained to handle assault cases. While the more documentation you have of your assault the better. Just because you may have waited to report an assault doesn’t mean you’ve waived your right to make a compensation claim.

The facts are that if you have been a victim of an assault, whether it was in the workplace, at home, or on the street, it’s still a crime. When you’re the victim of a crime, compensation is your right to pursue.  

You can make your claim for medical bills, time missed from work or the loss of your job, loss of super contributions and also pain and suffering, if applicable. If your trauma was severe and caused mental anguish, you may be able to get additional compensation related to the extreme circumstances you endured.  

Pain and suffering payouts are made out in film and on TV as a massive sum, but be prepared for your case to not have a large multiplier when it comes to adding pain and suffering to your claim amount. Unless you were seriously wounded, disfigured or the violence of the attack was extreme, pain and suffering may not amount to as much as the rest of your claim. 

The average compensation amount for a physical assault case will depend on how bad your personal injury is, if you have any scars you can expect to last, and the type of violence you were subjected to. Sexual harassment is a step down from sexual assault when it comes to compensation. 

However, you shouldn’t allow worries about how much you might receive to sway you, since it’s not solely about the money. We will let you know if we believe it is worth pursuing your case, and you won’t have to pay legal fees unless we win compensation for you since we operate on a no-win, no-fee basis. 

An assault can derail your life, and even if you recover fully, you don’t get lost time back. If you have suffered physical, emotional, psychological, mental and/or financial injury as the result of a workplace, domestic or criminal assault, you should find out if you are due compensation.

Our services include personal injury compensation claims, including civil claims for assault. Contact us for no-obligation legal advice about your claim.