I was mugged at a cash point on a night out at Christmas. I made the mistake of trying to grab my wallet back and put up my hand but the guy had a knife.

Someone who saw it happen called 999 but the guy ran off and was never found.

My hand was cut and it went right through some of the nerves and tendons. I also had some broken bones in my hand.

When I went to hospital the surgeons tried to repair the damage in my hand but they could not fix all of it. I had several surgeries and lots of rehabilitation therapy but I could not get any function back in my hand.

This was a life changing injury, losing the use of my dominant hand. I spent a long time off work, and learning how to do things with my left hand instead.

I made a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and was awarded £55,000 for loss of function of my hand based on the tariff of injuries. The scheme also awards for time off work; both time I was unable to work before the claim was settled and time the doctors said I would still not be able to work in the future.