Who can appeal
An appeal may be made by:
- a compensator, or
- by an injured person whose compensation payment has been reduced by the compensator to take account of benefit/lump sum payment recovery
The appeal must be in accordance with section 8 of the 1997 Act and Regulation 12 of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) (Lump Sum Payments) Regulations 2008.
An appeal must be made in writing. You can use the Appeal form (165KB) 
An appeal against a Certificate may be made on the grounds that:
- any amount, rate or period specified in the Certificate is wrong;
- the Certificate shows benefits and or lump sum payments which were not paid as a result of the accident, injury or disease;
- benefits and or lump sum payments listed which have not and are not likely to be paid to the injured person have been brought into account;
- the compensation payment made was not as a consequence of the accident, injury or disease.
Please note: CRU will regard any requests for appeal that do not comply with the above grounds as being invalid and refer them to the Tribunals Service. A tribunal judge will decide if the appeal can be accepted as being valid.
When to appeal and time limits
An appeal can only be made after
- final settlement of the compensation claim, and
- payment of recoverable benefits and or lump sum payments has been made.
An appeal must be made within one month of the date on which the compensator makes the full payment of recoverable benefits and or lump sum payments to the Secretary of State.
Late appeals
Late appeals can be accepted where there are special circumstances for lateness. The absolute time limit for making a valid appeal is 13 months after the date the right to appeal arose.
A late appeal may be considered if there are special circumstances such as:
- a death
- serious illness
- absence abroad
- postal strike
The above list is not exhaustive.
The reason for the late appeal must always be provided.
A tribunal judge may be asked to look at the reasons you have given for not appealing in time and will decide if your appeal can be accepted. They will look at:
- whether there were special circumstances for the delay
- the length of time since the compensator paid the money to the CRU
- whether it is in the interests of justice that your appeal is accepted, and
- whether your appeal is reasonably likely to succeed.
How to appeal
Use the Appeal form (165KB)
You can use a computer-generated version of the appeal form if it is in exactly the same format.
Write to CRU with the reasons for your appeal. Make sure you sign and date the letter/form.
Complete all relevant boxes on the form. You can get help from an advice centre or a solicitor.
If you are the injured person, you must attach any letters you have from the compensator telling you that the compensation payment has been reduced in accordance with either section 8 of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 or Regulation 12 of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) (Lump Sum Payments) Regulations 2008.
Send the form back to the Compensation Recovery Unit within the time limit.
