Ewan Marrin got £500,000 after he was left partially paralysed and blind in
one eye by his mother's ex- boyfriend.
His lawyers say the sum is not adequate for the seven year-old's lifetime
care.
They say personal injury cases in the civil courts can attract three times
the top Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme payout Ewan received.
"Innocent victims of crime like Ewan receive a lot less than people with
similar injuries who can make a civil claim against an insurance company
after, say, an accident at work or a road accident," said solicitor Michael
Laffey.
The case was backed by the Durham branch of the National Union of
Mineworkers, which brought the case for compensation through a trade union
law firm.
Tough on crime?
Ewan, of Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, was six months old at the
time of the attack.
He was awarded £500,000 under the scheme's fixed scale of compensation.
Mr Laffey, of Thompsons Solicitors in South Shields, is calling for the
upper limits of criminal injury compensation to be increased.
"On the one hand the government wants to be seen as tough on crime, but
on the other they are not prepared to properly compensate the innocent
victims of crime," he said.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is run by the Criminal Injuries
Compensation Authority and funded by the Home Office.
The Home Office has said the scheme, which pays out more than £200m a
year, is one of the most generous in the world.
