My shop was bombed in a racial attack - can I claim compensation?

From The Times

The College of Law on compensation for racist attacks, joint bank accounts and the dangers of crossing the road

Last April my news agency, like others in my area, was criminally damaged by a petrol bomb thrown into the shop. The attack was clearly racially aggravated. How can I claim compensation for this damage?

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme unfortunately covers only personal injury caused by crimes. If you were in Northern Ireland there is a special scheme for malicious damage to property caused by terrorism or unlawful assemblies of three or more persons, (Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977). The 1998 Omagh bombing, for example, caused £8 million damage, of which more than half has now been compensated. However, there is no equivalent for the rest of the United Kingdom.

Clearly you must consult your own insurance policy. However, malicious damage would usually be considered a special peril so may well not be covered by standard policies. Otherwise a compensation order can be made against the perpetrator when convicted. As you rightly point out racially aggravated attacks carry stiffer penalties under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the police are under a correspondingly higher duty to combat them.

Thinking about wills, I understand that joint house ownership involves a document that declares a Severance of Tenancy. But what about joint bank accounts and share ownership?

Clearly you can close the account in joint names and open separate accounts. Equally, you can submit a request to your bank for a new mandate to hold the account as tenants-in-common. However, do think about this because joint accounts help the survivor to access funds after the others death. Equally, you can, by using the requisite forms, split the shareholding and reregister separate shareholdings in the company. Otherwise you can still do a declaration of trust that the shares are held as tenants-in-common, without any need to register this.

A pedestrian, when crossing a road, which was otherwise clear of traffic, had an accident with a cyclist. It was evening and the cyclist, who had no lights or bright clothing, came so fast he did not see him. When braking he fell off. They both made statements to a policeman but one week later my friend received a solicitor’s letter claiming compensation on behalf of the cyclist and asking for insurance details. Is my friend the pedestrian liable?

A pedestrian or cyclist certainly has a duty of care to other road users so your friend may be liable for negligence in crossing the road without due care. There may, however, be contributory negligence by the cyclist in riding too fast and not wearing brighter clothing. A court may apportion this at 50 per cent and give the injured party only half his compensation and in negotiations between insurance companies this may well be the likely conclusion. Unfortunately, however, whereas motorists must have insurance cover, this is unusual for other users. Certainly some cyclists do have insurance cover for claims against them (for example, through the British Cycling Federation). However, anyone with household insurance (including other members of the household) should have public liability cover including claims against them when walking or cycling. Your friend should check this and tell the solicitor. If there is no cover it may not be worth his client suing him in any event.