Publication
52338 (4 November 2022)
From Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Published on
Last updated on
From Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Published on
Last updated on
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
In the matter of an application under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted
Decision of a Single Member
Name of applicant: [ ]
Application number: 52338
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: No award as no expenses incurred which fall under the ambit of the Scheme.
1. [ ] (‘the applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).
2. In his application for compensation under the Scheme, received by the Tribunal Secretariat on [ ], the applicant stated that he had suffered a head injury (laceration to head) as a consequence of an assault by a fellow resident of [ ] in which he was living on [ ].
3. The application was made within three months of the incident on the appropriate form and it was reported to the gardai on the night of the incident, fulfilling paragraphs 20 -22 of the Scheme. The garda report indicate that an assault occurred which at the minimum required further investigation. As such it appears on the balance of probabilities that the applicant suffered an injury as a result of a crime of violence and fulfilled all procedural requirements to bring his case under the Scheme’s consideration.
4. The applicant has not submitted any expenses arising from his injuries. In this regard it is important to note limitations of the Scheme: it awards compensation for expenses arising from injuries inflicted by a crime of violence. It is expressly precluded from awarding damages for ‘pain and suffering’ – paragraph 6(e) of the Scheme.
5. A handwritten note on the file appears to reflect a conversation had with a member of the Tribunal Secretariat and the applicant on [ ] in which the Scheme’s limitation to awarding expenses only were communicated to him. It appears that the applicant was unaware of this and no further correspondence from the applicant is on file.
6. The Tribunal notes that a violent incident that causes injury is a shocking event whether or not the injury causes expenses or losses. It acknowledges that the applicant was, on the balance of probabilities, the victim of a crime of violence. However it cannot make any award of compensation under the terms of the Scheme, as no expenses appear to have been incurred in this case.
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
4 November 2022