The initial frisson of Westminster interning hasn’t quite work off yet. I still can’t quite suppress a big, foolish grin when I emerge from the tube and see Big Ben looming over Victoria Embankment. And the casework is still fascinating, and my inner geek does love hoofing through Hansard.
One case is nibbling at me, however. A woman - whose husband killed their daughter and then himself - applied for compensation, and was awarded £11,000, but this wasn’t near enough to cover her counselling bills and the fact that she has been unable to function ever since. For a while I’ve been trying to find some way to up her award or seek financial support elsewhere, but I can’t find anything.
Mostly, this is because her husband killed himself. Had someone else killed her family, she would be awarded over £20,000. Because a member of her family killed her family, she’s awarded half as much. I’m not sure whether either your family self-destructing is worse than someone else destroying it, but I’m sure it’s at least equivalent. Neither am I sure who decides whether any of these equivalences would be financial as well as moral. But I’m fairly sure the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority haven’t considered this properly.
One case is nibbling at me, however. A woman - whose husband killed their daughter and then himself - applied for compensation, and was awarded £11,000, but this wasn’t near enough to cover her counselling bills and the fact that she has been unable to function ever since. For a while I’ve been trying to find some way to up her award or seek financial support elsewhere, but I can’t find anything.
Mostly, this is because her husband killed himself. Had someone else killed her family, she would be awarded over £20,000. Because a member of her family killed her family, she’s awarded half as much. I’m not sure whether either your family self-destructing is worse than someone else destroying it, but I’m sure it’s at least equivalent. Neither am I sure who decides whether any of these equivalences would be financial as well as moral. But I’m fairly sure the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority haven’t considered this properly.
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