Publication
53927 (23 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: 53927
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: The applicant has not given evidence of losses capable of being compensated under the Scheme: no award.
1. Mr [ ] (‘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, dated [ ], the applicant stated that he had suffered injuries when he was assaulted at his house by a youth from [ ]. He received lacerations to the face. Photographs and a statement to the Gardai was supplied.
3. There is no report of any investigation by the Gardai in this case. It appears that the applicant did not wish to press charges in respect of an incident involving a young neighbour. However from the information that he has supplied I am satisfied that the applicant has established, on the balance of probabilities, that he was a victim of a crime of violence and sustained a personal injury which is directly attributable to that incident.
4. The incident was reported to the Gardaí on [ ], being 2 days after the incident and thereby meeting the requirement of Para 22 of the Scheme that the matter be reported without delay. Further, the application was made within three months of the incident, meeting the requirements of Para 20 of the Scheme.
5. Accordingly, I admit the application for consideration under the Scheme.
6. The applicant sets out that he received four sutures over the eye which had to be removed four days later. The applicant states that he had a medical card which covered these expenses, and because he was on disability benefit before and after the incident no loss of earnings arose.
7. The Tribunal may make awards of compensation for expenses that are incurred as a consequence of the injury sustained by a crime of violence. This might cover the cost of treatment which is attributable to the criminally inflicted injuries or loss of earnings. The Scheme does not allow the Tribunal to make any award for general pain and suffering caused by the injury: Para 6(e) of the Scheme. Therefore, while the Tribunal acknowledges that the applicant was subject of a violent incident by which he was injured, and that this caused him pain and distress, this suffering cannot be subject of an award of compensation. Rather the Tribunal must assess any claim for compensation through the lens of whether it represents an expense that is directly attributable to the injury sustained in the incident in question.
8. The applicant submitted a medical report which stated that the plan of care was for the applicant to attend his GP for the removal of the sutures.
9. The applicant a number of invoices for an acupuncture clinic. These are dated between [ ] and [ ]. It seems that this acupuncture started over a year after the incident in question. It is not clear that it was treatment directed to the face or injury site. Further, there is no indication that this treatment was deemed necessary by a medical practitioner. In the circumstances the expenses claimed cannot be categorised as directly attributable to the injury sustained as a result of the incident in question.
10. There are no expenses which have been submitted by the applicant which fall within the ambit of the Scheme. Regrettably, the Tribunal can therefore make no award of compensation in the circumstances of this case.
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
23 November 2022