Publication
50320 (18 August 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: 50320
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: The application is refused under Article 21 of the Scheme AND on the balance of probabilities that the special damages allegedly incurred by the applicant were not caused as a result of the injuries received in the incident on the [ ].
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 on the [ ], the applicant stated that he had suffered injuries as a result of an incident that happened on the [ ].
3. The applicant stated that whilst outside [ ] at [ ], on the [ ] he reversed out his car from his property and then got out to close the gate. When he got back into his car, he observed [ ] sitting in the driver’s seat. [ ],. The applicant was hurled off his feet, onto the road. [ ],. As a result of the incident, the applicant suffered cuts to his head, arms, knee, hands, a bruise to his head, hips and abdomen.
4. He was admitted to [ ] Hospital on the [ ] and discharged on the [ ] but readmitted again on the [ ], discharged on the [ ] and admitted again on the [ ] and discharged on the [ ]. He had to undergo a number of operations.
5. The Garda Report is dated the [ ]. According to the member Garda [ ], the application suffered slight injuries on the night in question. Slight bruising to his face and legs and other than that there was no other injuries.
6. A report from Mr. [ ] of [ ] Hospital, detailed that the applicant presented to the Emergency Department there on the [ ] regarding a [ ], which required surgery. Mr. [ ] stated, at the last line of his report, “we cannot comment on his personal injuries which he suffered as a result of crime of violence on the [ ]”.
7. The applicant was written to you on the [ ] by the Secretariat acknowledging receipt of his application form on the [ ]. Details were sought regarding his absence from work and details of his net loss of earnings as well as details of his medical expenses.
8. On the [ ], the Garda Report was furnished to the applicant and he was informed that correspondence would issue to Mr. [ ] as referred to above. On the [ ], he was written to regarding the Garda Report and advised that Garda Report described the injuries as slight. He was also forwarded a copy of the medical report from Mr. [ ] which did not describe any injuries relating to the incident on the [ ]. It was specifically pointed out to him that the medical report described an illness which was unrelated to the incident. The applicant was again written to on the [ ]. On the [ ], the applicant was written to by the secretariat, forwarding on the correspondence of the [ ] and enquiring to know if he still wished to pursue the application. He was also advised that in the absence of hearing from him, the file would be sent to a member on the [ ] for a decision. To date, no response and or communication has been received.
9. One point of interest in the Garda Report is that there were proceedings taken against a person but not enough evidence to proceed with the case.
10. There is no medical report detailing the alleged injuries suffered on the night.
11. The following issues are of concern in connection with this application
12. Article 1 provides “the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal established under paragraph 16 of the Scheme may pay compensation in accordance with the scheme in respect of personal injury where the injury is directly attributable to a crime of violence”. Nobody has been made amenable for the alleged crime of violence here. An individual was charged. On the balance of probabilities having reviewed the Garda report the Tribunal is prepared to accept that the applicant was a victim of a crime of violence.
13. Article 9 of the scheme provides “no compensation will be payable unless the Tribunal is satisfied that the injury is such that compensation of not less than €63 should be awarded”. Please note that this was previously Article 10 under the old scheme and in fact under the new scheme, the amount is €500. Details of special damages have been furnished to the Tribunal in that it is alleged that the applicant has suffered a loss of earnings of €8,718, unvouched taxi expenses from hospital and to Court of €338, a hospital bill of €606 and medicine of €225 and a hospital carpark weekly fee of €30. It would appear, therefore that the applicant’s claim, on the face of it meets the requirements of Article 9.
14. Article 20 of the scheme (previously Article 21) it provides “application should be made as soon as possible but accepted circumstances determined by the Tribunal to justify exceptional treatment not later than three months after the event giving rise to the injury.” This incident happened on the [ ] and therefore the application should have been submitted by the [ ] but, in reality, was received on the [ ], nearly a month outside of the time. No circumstances have been submitted to the Tribunal to enable it to determine whether exceptional treatment applies in this particular case. Given that the application is outside of time, the provisions of Article 20 apply.
15. An Garda Síochána described that the applicant suffered slight injuries to his face, hand and legs. There is no link or nexus between these slight injuries and the disease described by Mr. [ ]. In addition, there is no objective evidence before the Tribunal to establish that the applicant’s claim for the various special damages is linked to or caused by injuries allegedly suffered in the incident that occurred on the [ ]. Mr. [ ], report is very specific in this respect and he attributes the hospital admission to pre-existing disease. There is no evidence of the other alleged hospital admissions The Tribunal on the balance of probabilities finds no causative link between the expenses claimed and the injury which occurred on the night.
16. Finally, the applicant does not appear to have made any comment in relation to these matters or disputed any of what is contained in Mr. [ ] report.
17. Therefore, the application is dismissed under Article 21 now Article 20 of the Scheme.
18. The application is also dismissed on the basis that the special damages allegedly suffered by the applicant were not incurred as a result of the slight injuries received in the incident on the [ ].
Martin G Lawlor
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
18 August 2022