Louis Browne KC appears for CICA as High Court dismisses judicial review

March 12, 2026

The High Court has dismissed a judicial review challenging a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) refusing the claimant’s application to reconsider her case under paragraph 13 of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 1990.

The claim was brought in R (Grass) v First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority [2026] EWHC 541 (Admin). Louis Browne KC from Exchange Chambers, instructed by the Government Legal Department, successfully represented the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

The Claimant suffered severe brain injuries as an infant after being shaken by her natural father and received a lump sum compensation award in 2010, assessed on the basis that she was unlikely to live beyond 20 years of age.

Having significantly exceeded that life expectancy, the Claimant sought to have her case reconsidered, arguing that her increased longevity constituted a “serious change in medical condition” under the Scheme.

The High Court upheld the Tribunal’s decision and accepted the submissions advanced by Louis Browne KC on behalf of the CICA that the Scheme’s provision for reopening cases is deliberately restrictive and requires a serious change in the applicant’s substantive medical condition. The Court held that the Claimant’s increased life expectancy, while significant, did not amount to such a change within the meaning of the Scheme.

The Court also emphasised the importance of finality in compensation awards and the need to limit the scope of applications to reopen such awards.