Publication
51677 (26 September 2022)
From Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Published on
Last updated on
From Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Published on
Last updated on
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted - General Scheme
Single Member Decision
Application of [ ]
Application number: 51677
Name of applicant: [ ]
Date of incident: [ ]
Date application received: [ ]
Decision: No award.
The Applicant applied to the Tribunal arising from an incident which occurred on the [ ] at [ ] causing him to sustain personal injury. The Applicant states that he was walking through a park towards a football match, when he and his friend were set upon by unknown group and he was then assaulted and struck on the head with a wooden post causing him to black out. The Applicant later attended at [ ] Hospital and required seven stitches to his head.
The Applicant was taken to [ ] Garda Station and it appears that he awoke in Garda custody. He states that the Garda members present were unhelpful and refused to take a statement of complaint regarding the incident. Instead, the Applicant was charged with one or more offences under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act. There were no criminal proceedings or civil proceedings against any party and the Applicant has not received payment of compensation at any time arising from the incident.
The General Scheme provides that the Tribunal may pay compensation for out-of-pocket expenses in respect of personal injury, where the injury is directly attributable to a crime of violence, subject to the provisions of the Scheme. Amounts claimed must be vouched and/or supported by appropriate documentation. The Tribunal is entirely responsible for deciding in any particular case whether compensation is payable under the scheme.
Paragraph 21 of the General Scheme (pre-April 2021) states that “Applications should be made as soon as possible but, except in circumstances determined by the Tribunal to justify exceptional treatment, not later than three months after the event giving rise to the injury”. In this case, the application was received on the [ ] and was in time.
Paragraph 23 of the General Scheme (pre-April 2021) states that “To qualify for compensation it will be necessary to indicate to the Tribunal that the offence giving rise to injury has been the subject of criminal proceedings or that it was reported without delay to the Gardaí. However, the Tribunal will have discretion to dispense with this requirement where they are satisfied that all reasonable efforts were made by or on behalf of the claimant to notify the Garda Síochána of the offence and to cooperate with them.”
The Applicant states that he was the victim of a crime of violence which occurred on the [ ] at [ ] when he sustained personal injury.
In this case, the alleged offence giving rise to the Applicant’s injuries was not the subject of criminal proceedings. Furthermore, the Applicant did not make a statement of complaint to An Garda Siochana. The Tribunal has discretion to dispense with the requirements of Paragraph 23 where it is satisfied that all reasonable efforts were made by or on behalf of the claimant to notify the Garda Síochána of the offence and to cooperate with them. The onus of proof in this regard rests with the Applicant. In considering this issue, this Tribunal Member considers the following matters of relevance:
(i) The Applicant was charged with one or more offences under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act. Such charge(s) would have required, at a minimum, a statement of complaint by one or more parties.
(ii) Had the Applicant contested such charge(s) in court on a plea of not guilty and been acquitted following a full hearing of the evidence, the Applicant would have been in a position to furnish evidence of this to the Tribunal. No such evidence was submitted.
(iii) The Applicant states that Garda members did not entertain his verbal complaints and refused to take a statement of complaint at the time. However, it would have been open to the Applicant to arrange to attend by appointment subsequently to make his statement. If necessary, the Applicant could have directed his dissatisfaction and his request to make a statement to the Superintendent, being the commanding officer with overall responsibility for Garda operations within the district. It appears that the Applicant did not do so. Independent of this, the Applicant was at all times in a position to prepare a statement of complaint though his Solicitor and submit same to An Garda Siochana for investigation. Again, it appears that he did not do so.
(iv) The Applicant lodged a complaint with the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission. There is no evidence that such complaint was upheld.
This Tribunal Member is not satisfied that the Applicant has established that all reasonable efforts were made by him to notify the Garda Síochána of the alleged offence and to cooperate with them. Therefore, the Tribunal has no discretion to dispense with the requirements of Paragraph 23 and the Tribunal finds that these requirements were not met in this case.
In the circumstances, pursuant to Paragraph 23 of the Scheme, the Tribunal makes no award.
Dated the 26th day of September 2022.
Cathal Lombard
Tribunal Member