04/10/2005

Bomb victims begin to receive payouts

The compensation cheques for victims of the July 7 London bombings have been sent out, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has announced.

The CICA said it received the first two acceptances of the awards on Friday and sent out the first two cheques on Monday. Twenty-two awards, with a total value of over £400,000 had been offered so far, the CICA confirmed, and they are expecting more payments to follow in the next few days.

However, there has been criticism from some victims and their families that the payments have taken too long to come through.

Fifty-two people were killed in the suicide bombings in London on July 7 and 700 were injured.

The CICA said that 209 applications for compensation had been received so far, with 92 being confirmed by police reports. A medical report, confirming injuries sustained in the blasts, is also required in order to process a claim.

Under Home Office guidelines, relatives who lost a loved one in the bombings will be entitled to £11,000 each or £5,500 if two or more claim for the same victim.

Survivors of the bombings who received serious injuries can also claim for loss of earnings and care costs, in addition to compensation, for a sum of up to £500,000.

The CICA said that final offers of compensation were made when the extent of injuries, and particularly the extent of financial loss, is made clear – a process, which is said “may take some time”.

However, Howard Webber, Chief Executive of the CICA, said: “We are determined that they receive the compensation they are entitled to as quickly as possible.”

(KMcA/SP)

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