Publication
54135 (25 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: #54135
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: Refused under para 21.
1. [ ] (‘the applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).
2. The applicant stated that he had been assaulted in the vicinity of [ ] on [ ].
3. In his application form, in material part, the applicant stated as follows:
‘On the night in question I was walking from the [ ] Bar in [ ] to get a taxi home from [ ].
A large group of men came running over a bridge in pursuit of a lone male.
I was walking with a friend of mine and we would have passed by the lone male in question. When the group came upon us [ ] confronted me believing that I was somehow connected with the person that they were pursuing. He struck (sic) with the [ ], knocking me unconscious to the ground.
[ ] (my friend) managed to drag me away, [ ] had not sustained any injuries. He saw that I was kicked violently on the ground (I ended up with two fractured vertebrae).
We were able to flag down a vehicle and to be taken home. My wife helped me bed, (sic) but the pain was unbearable so we called the local on-call GP service… the next day and they referred me to the Emergency Department in [ ].’ ([ ] Hospital)
4. The applicant stated that he received hospital in-patient treatment until [ ] and out-patient treatment from [ ] until approximately [ ]. He also consulted his GP regarding his injuries.
5. The matter was reported to An Garda Síochána and a report dated [ ] was on file. The report confirmed that the incident occurred on [ ] at 2.00am at [ ]. In passing, no issue was taken by the Tribunal in relation to the discrepancy in the date of incident as related by the applicant and the date of the incident as recorded by the Gardaí. The Tribunal was prepared to assume that, as the applicant had gone out to socialise on the evening of [ ], he might easily have made an error and failed to record that the incident had, in fact, occurred in the early hours of the following day.
6. The report confirmed that the criminal prosecution of the offender had concluded at [ ] Circuit Criminal Court on [ ]. By letter dated [ ], the applicant’s solicitors confirmed that the offender had been convicted of assaulting the applicant and had received an [ ] custodial sentence (with [ ] of that sentence being suspended).
7. The applicant made an application for compensation dated [ ], which was received by the Tribunal on [ ].
8. Paragraph 21 of the Scheme states:
‘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.’
9. As can be seen, the application was required to have been made to the Tribunal by the applicant promptly and, in any event, no less than three months from the date of the incident. Thus, to comply with this requirement, the applicant ought to have been lodged with the Tribunal no later than by [ ]. In the event, the application was not lodged until [ ], some two years and two months after the three-month time period had elapsed.
10. Accordingly, the Tribunal considered whether the circumstances, which had resulted in the late submission of the application, were such as to justify exceptional treatment for the admission of the application under the Scheme.
11. In considering this issue, the Tribunal had regard to all of the documentary material contained on the file and, in particular, the following Sections of the applicant’s application form:
Section 2(f): this Section specifically addresses reasons for the late submission of an application under the Scheme. In his form, at Section 2(f), the applicant stated:
‘I was led to believe, by the Gardai, that any compensation I might be entitled to would have to wait until the criminal proceedings had concluded. I also was not recovered within 3 months of the assault, and in fact I'm yet to recover. It is only in recent weeks that I have grown concerned they may not in fact recover, and the opposite might be the case, which will leave me and my family in a terrible financial situation.’
Section 3(d): Section 3 requires an applicant to set out the details of the report of the incident to the Gardaí and any criminal proceedings. At Section 3(d), which addressed whether the applicant had received compensation from the offender, the applicant stated:
‘The criminal proceedings have not taken place. Regarding compensation from the offender I was advised by the Gardaí that he would not be able to pay any compensation, and wants that was stated in court I would then be able to potentially access compensation through a state scheme (which I now understand the garda to have meant the criminal injuries compensation tribunal). I now have taken legal advice on these matters, but had not done so previously because of what the gardai had led me to believe.’
Section 7: this Section is entitled ‘Any further matters’. Under this Section, the applicant stated:
‘I had no idea that there was a time limit to bringing this application, rather I had been led to believe that there was a scheme that would come into effect once the criminal proceedings were concluded, and there have been delays with the criminal proceedings.’
12. In this case, having carefully considered the applicant’s reasons for not submitting his application within three months of the event giving rise to the injury, and in the absence of evidence to support what is said, the Tribunal is not persuaded that the circumstances identified are such as to justify exceptional treatment which would permit the exercise of the Tribunal’s discretion in favour of admitting the application under the Scheme.
13. The Tribunal therefore refuses to admit the application under paragraph 21 of the Scheme.
14. NA.
15. NA.
16. NA.
17. Nil. Refused under paragraph 21 of the scheme.
Conor Heaney
Chairperson, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
25 August 2022
Postscript:
This application was lodged with the Tribunal under the terms of the Scheme which was effective until 19 April 2021. The Scheme was amended with effect from 20 April 2021.
Information in relation to applications for compensation lodged under the Scheme before the amendment can be found at: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/6edbc-criminal-injuries-compensation-scheme-your-questions-answered/#how-your-application-will-be-dealt-with-if-you-applied-to-the-tribunal-before-the-scheme-was-amended-on-20-april-2021
In this application, no circumstances were identified by the Tribunal which justified exceptional treatment for admission of the application, which was late, under the Scheme. This decision was made, as provided for by the Scheme, by a Single Member of the Tribunal. As the application was decided on that preliminary issue, no consideration by three Members of the Tribunal took place as to whether an award of €75,000 or more was involved.