Publication
23998 (4 September 2023)
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: 23998
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: No award
1. [ ] (‘the applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).
2. On the [ ], the applicant intervened to assist his friend who was being attacked by a group of assailants. The applicant was punched and kicked by the assailants in the head and face.
3. The applicant sustained a broken nose, chipped teeth and a bruised neck. He also required 15 stitches to his face. The applicant subsequently required an operation to straighten his nose.
4. The applicant alleges that the incident was reported to a Garda attached to [ ] Garda Station. Unfortunately, [ ] Garda Station have no record of receiving a report of the incident.
5. The applicant has not put forward any out-of-pocket expenses.
6. Paragraph 22 of the (pre-April 2021) Scheme states “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 or to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) in any case where the crime is alleged to have been carried out by a member of An Garda Síochána. 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 or the GSOC as the case may be, of the offence and to cooperate with them”. The Gardai in [ ] (and [ ]) have no record of this matter being reported to them. The applicant maintains that he spoke to “Gardai at that time …….and remembers a member telling him that they had reports of similar assaults in the area around that time.”. Further, the applicant maintains that he spoke to the Gardai a couple of times.
7. The application was received by the Tribunal ten months after the date of the incident. Paragraph 21 of the (pre-April 2021) Scheme 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”. The applicant stated that he was not comfortable revising the events of the incident and this is why the application was not submitted within the appropriate timeframe. However, the applicant has not had provided any medical report vouching the nature and extent of his injuries impeded him from making the application within the appropriate time frame.
8. While it is noted that the Gardai have no record of having received a report of the incident, the Tribunal accepts that the applicant spoke with and reported the matter to the Gardai as alleged and therefore complied with paragraph 22 of the Scheme.
9. Further, the Tribunal has no doubt that the applicant was the victim of a vicious and horrific assault while trying to defend his friend. The Tribunal also has no doubt that the applicant sustained severe injuries that will no doubt continue to have a profound and indefinite effect on him. Unfortunately, it is not within the remit of the Tribunal to award compensation for pain and suffering. The Tribunal can only make an award in respect of vouched out-of-pocket expenses. The applicant has failed to put forward any out-of-pocket expenses of any kind. For this reason alone, the Tribunal can therefore make no award to the applicant.
10. In circumstances where the applicant has not put forward any out-of-pocket expenses and where the Tribunal is unable to make any award to the applicant, it is not necessary for the Tribunal to make any further determinations on the other provisions of the Scheme which apply to this application, such as paragraph 21 of the Scheme. However, in the absence of medical report or further evidence proving that the applicant’s injuries hindered or prevented him from making the application within the required three-month timeframe, the Tribunal would not have been in a position to accept that this application justifies exception treatment, and it would not have been in a position to admit this application to the Scheme.
David Culleton
Member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
4 September 2023