Publication
51216 (10 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: 51216
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: The application is refused under Paragraph 21 of the Scheme.
1. [ ] (‘the applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).
2. On the night of the [ ], the applicant claims that he was the victim of an assault by [ ] (“offender”), while celebrating [ ] in [ ]. The Tribunal is advised by the Gardai that during the course of the evening, the applicant made derogatory comments to the offender’s wife. The offender reacted by hitting the applicant over the head with a glass bottle and stabbed him in the neck.
3. The applicant lost six pints of blood and was rushed for urgent operative intervention and surgical repair to [ ] Hospital. Luckily, the applicant made a full recovery.
4. The incident was reported to and investigated by [ ] Garda Station. The Gardai have advised the Tribunal that the offender pleaded guilty to assaulting the applicant.
5. This application was submitted to the Tribunal almost thirty-eight 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 submitted that the delay arose as a consequence of the offender absconding and his whereabouts were unknown until he recently returned to [ ] and was arrested by the Gardai.
6. Further, it is noted that no contact has been received by the Tribunal for or on behalf of the applicant since [ ], over [ ] and a half years ago.
7. It is also noted that the applicant has incurred a number of serious criminal convictions including for [ ].
8. The application has not been made within the three-month time limit as stipulated by paragraph 21 of the Scheme and is thirty-five months late. The Tribunal must in, in the first instance determine, whether the circumstances of this late application justify exceptional treatment such that that the application may be considered under the provisions of the Scheme. The Tribunal finds that it is not necessary to wait until an offender is arrested or prosecuted before making an application to the Tribunal, nor is there anything in the rules, terms or conditions of the Scheme to suggest that an applicant should wait until an offender is arrested or prosecuted, rather, paragraph 21 encourages applicants to apply as soon as possible, or at the latest, within three months of the event giving rise to the injury. Therefore, the Tribunal determines that the grounds put forward by the applicant do not warrant exceptional treatment. Regretfully, for this reason, this application must be refused.
9. In circumstances where the application has not been admitted to the Scheme, it is not necessary for the Tribunal to make any further determinations on the application of paragraphs 13 and 14 of the (pre-April 2021) Scheme to this matter.
David Culleton
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
10 August 2022