Legal News

Manchester City Council has announced that the families of some victims who lost their lives in the Manchester Arena attacks and some of those injured are due to receive the first payouts from a charity fund set up to help those involved in the terrorist attack.

A new charity has been set up to distribute the donations among those affected – trustees have already agreed the first round of funding, which will see around £1 million released urgently.

Trustees of the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund have agreed to release the first round of funding to ensure that families and survivors benefit from the phenomenal outpouring of public support.

The council said that more than £6.2m had already been raised through the appeal, which has been led by Manchester City Council and the Manchester Evening News (MEN), in partnership with the British Red Cross, which is collecting the donations.

The MEN's We Stand Together campaign has raised almost £2m of this total.

Flat rate payments will be given to families of the bereaved, those who were in hospital for more than seven days – and those who were hospitalised overnight.

The early funds will be released as gift payments, meaning that there will be no conditions on how the recipients spend the money to support them and their loved ones through the immediate aftermath of the attack – once those payments have been made, further funds will be made available in a phased process, with priority given to those who have been bereaved or seriously injured in the attack.

Since the incident, families have been receiving emergency financial help from Victim Support, the Red Cross and Manchester City Council to cover immediate needs – including hotel bills, food and clothing – in advance of the fund making payments.

Chair of the new charity, Councillor Sue Murphy, said:

“We are unbelievably grateful for the generous donations to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund – the world’s solidarity with our city has been a ray of light in Manchester’s darkest hour.

“We want to ensure that the funds are distributed to those who need it and when they need it most – that’s why we’ve released these early payments, in the hope that they can go in some way to alleviating the suffering of the families at this difficult time.

“We’re moving quickly to ensure that the charity is set up so that it can get support out as soon as possible.”

Police family liaison officers and victim support are facilitating the application process, said the council.

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Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors can advise those who have been injured as a result of criminal activity on how to make a no win no fee claim for compensation.

Personal injury claims have to be made within three years of injury or diagnosis of injury – claims for criminal injuries can be made under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and/or via the civil courts on a no win no fee basis once a criminal conviction against the perpetrator has been obtained. Children can make claims for criminal injury up to the age of 21.

Your Duncan Lewis solicitors will advise on how to make a claim in your particular circumstances.

Duncan Lewis can also advise on compensation claims involving historical cases of sexual abuse and/or physical abuse – and offers supportive legal advice to bereaved families whose loved one has lost their life as a result of criminal activity, including murder, manslaughter or unprovoked attacks.

Duncan Lewis also advises on rehabilitation, ongoing care, access to welfare benefits and adaptations to the home, if needed.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Criminal Injury Claims, call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 0333 772 0409.