Damages

If a court has ruled that you are entitled to damages in a criminal case, and the liable party does not pay voluntarily, you can request help from us.

How do I apply for assistance from the Enforcement Authority?

Once the trial is over and the ruling can no longer be appealed, you will receive a letter from us with an application form, “Application for execution (criminal damages)”. You have to fill in the form and send it to us in order for us to assist you in receiving damages. You don’t need to send the ruling.

You can also apply for assistance before you receive the letter. Print out the form “Application for execution (criminal damages)” from our website. Fill in the form, and include a copy of the ruling, or of the pages in it where the following information is found:

• who is entitled to damages (i e who is the plaintiff)
• who has to pay damages (i e who is the defendant)
• the amount of the damages.

Is there a fee for making the application?

Once your application reaches us we register it and send a demand for payment to the liable party. There is no fee for making this type of application. Contact us if you would like further information about this.

When can the damages be paid out to me?

We can only pay out the damages once the ruling can no longer be appealed, i e when it has become final.

What happens if the liable party doesn’t pay?

If the party liable to pay the damages does not do so, we will investigate whether they have assets we can seize in order to make the payment. If they don’t have sufficient assets to pay the entire amount of the damages, you can use our investigation to apply for crime victim compensation from Brottsoffermyndigheten (the Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority).

Your application will remain registered with us until the whole amount of the damages has been paid or until you withdraw your application.

You can apply for crime victim compensation

In some cases you will be eligible for crime victim compensation from the Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority. Before applying for crime victim compensation from them you must have tried to get the damages paid to you through us our your insurance company.

The Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority require our investigation report before they pay you any crime victim compensation. The report must not be older than six months.

When you receive compensation from the Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority, the debt owed to you by the party liable becomes owed to the authority instead.

Are you insured?

If you have insurance you always have to notify the insurance company of the crime. Many home insurance policies include personal assault cover. You may also be insured through your employer or your trade union.

If the liable party pays you directly

If you receive payment directly from the liable party, you have to notify us when this occurs and specify how much you received. The reason for this is that you are not entitled to assistance with collecting money that you have already received.

What happens if there are several liable parties?

Sometimes a court will rule that several individuals must pay damages together. Those individuals are then considered jointly and severally liable. This means that you can claim the entire amount of the damages from any one of them.