54163 (28 June 2023)

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: 54163

Date of incident: [ ]

Date of application: [ ]

Decision outcome: No award as no loss that falls under the terms 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. In his application for compensation under the Scheme, signed on [ ] and received by the Tribunal on [ ], the applicant stated that he had suffered injuries on [ ] in [ ] when he was assaulted by three unknown people. He said that he lost consciousness, then sought assistance of [ ] nearby, after which he reported the incident to the Gardai and then sought medical attention.

3. The application was made within the three-month period required by the Scheme and it was made on the correct form. It was reported on the night of the incident to the Gardai, who in their report corroborate the fact that the applicant was a victim of an incident which caused him damage to his nose, albeit the report focuses mainly on the theft [ ].

4. From the foregoing, 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 personal injury which is directly attributable to that crime of violence.

5. Accordingly, I admit the application for consideration under the Scheme.

6. The Tribunal notes that the applicant has set out details of the personal impact the incident had on him, and in particular his relationship. Clearly this was a distressing event and the Tribunal wishes to express its sympathy to the applicant for having suffered this assault.

7. It is appropriate that the Tribunal sets out what it can, and what it cannot, do. 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 or loss of earnings. However 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. This means that the Tribunal is not entitled to award compensation for emotional upset or distress. Neither is it entitled to award compensation for the loss of personal items (such as the applicant’s phone) during the course of the assault, as this does not constitute compensation as a result of an injury.

8. By email of [ ] the applicant stated that he had no loss of earnings, and that he had not submitted any expenses for treatment, stating that this was covered by the NHS. He again indicated in an email dated [ ] that he had no out-of-pocket expenses to declare. This was in response to an email from the Tribunal’s secretariat stating that the Tribunal did not cover general damages, and that if he had documentation supporting a claim for loss of earnings or out-of-pocket expenses he should supply them.

9. As such, while it is acknowledged that the applicant was a victim of crime of violence, there is no loss which falls under the Scheme for which the Tribunal is empowered to compensate the applicant.

10. The Tribunal must therefore simply reiterate its regret that the applicant suffered this assault. It however has no power to make an award of compensation in this case.

Tricia Sheehy Skeffington

Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

28 June 2023