Anger over Jessica Knight's compensation offer (From This Is Lancashire)

Anger over Jessica Knight's compensation offer

1:31pm Wednesday 7th October 2009 in

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FAMILY and friends of Chorley stab victim Jessica Knight have condemned a compensation offer as ‘an insult to her bravery’.

The 15-year-old Euxton girl was left with life-threatening injuries while she was walking in Astley Park when she was stabbed more than 20 times.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, (CICA), has awarded her £18,895 to compensate for her ordeal.

The unprovoked attack, in January last year, left her with a perforated upper and lower bowel, a collapsed lung and stab wounds to her face, neck and back.

One of the wounds penetrated the muscle of her eye, leaving her with double vision, for which she req-uires further surgery.

Jessica underwent multiple surgeries and suffered a stroke while in a coma.

She has since undergone a slow and painful rehabilitation to enable her to return home and begin to rebuild her life.

Jessica’s mother, Jill Walmsley, has vowed to fight the offer and said that she believes the amount is far short of what her daug-hter deserves after her ordeal.

Gareth Crook, 31, found and tended to the stricken Jessica when he found her after the attack.

He has since become a close family friend and received numerous bravery awards for his actions.

He said: “I’m extremely angry at the amount Jess has been offered.

“The extent of injuries she received were horrific and it was only her fighting qualities that allowed her to survive.

“Is £18,000 enough for all that hurt and suffering she has been through?

“She’s a real battler and deserves a decent amount of compensation to give her a better future and help her get over this traumatic incident.”

Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle, has branded the offer ‘ridiculous’ and agreed to act on the family’s behalf.

He said: “I have been in touch with Jessica’s mum and I have contacted CICA on her behalf.

"I understand that the decision is made on evidence provided by Jess-ica’s medical team.

“I am working to get CICA to re-examine their decision as I strongly believe that Jessica should be entitled to a higher level of comp-ensation.”

A spokesman for CICA said they did not comment on individual awards.

He added that if an applicant thinks their case was not reviewed fairly they can ask for a review and if still unhappy take the matter to a tribunal.

Kristofer Beddar, 21, from Adlington, is currently serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of Jessica after a trial last year.