51307 (5 August 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: 51307

Date of incident: [ ]

Date of application: [ ]

Decision/outcome: Application refused under Paragraph 23 of the Scheme.

1. [ ] (‘the Applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’). The Applicant has submitted a completed application form in respect of his claim which was received by the Tribunal on [ ].

2. The Applicant states that at approximately 1am on the morning of [ ] the Applicant was walking home from [ ] in [ ] when he was stabbed seven times in the back. The Applicant claims not to know who stabbed him. The Applicant was taken by ambulance to the Emergency Department at the [ ] Hospital where he was admitted and remained an in-patient until [ ]. The Applicant has not submitted any medical report in respect of his injuries but has submitted a list of prescribed medication and a letter from his treating doctor confirming his injuries and unfitness for work.

3. The incident was reported to Gardaí by [ ]. An unidentified female witnessed the incident and subsequently provided a written statement to Gardaí on [ ]. However it appears that this female was unwilling to cooperate with a the Garda investigation thereafter. The Applicant made a statement to Garda [ ] on [ ] where he stated that he did not want his assault investigated.

4. The Applicant claims for hospital expenses of approximately €2,000 together with associated prescription/medication costs.

5. Paragraph 23 of the 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 to the Gardai without delay. However, the Tribunal will have discretion to dispense with this requirement in the case of injuries resulting from offences committed before the commencement of the Scheme, and in other cases where they are satisfied that all reasonable efforts were made by or on behalf of the claimant to notify the Garda Síochána of the offence and to cooperate with them.’ (Emphasis added)

6. In the instant case Gardaí were notified of the incident very shortly after it occurred. The Applicant gave a statement to Garda [ ] on [ ] where he stated:

‘On the night of [ ] I received seven stab wounds to my back on [ ]. I do not wish to make a statement of complaint to the Gardaí and I do not want my assault investigated. I make this decision of my own free will. This statement has been read over to me and I do not wish to make any additions or amendments.’

The Tribunal believes that this statement is clear and unequivocal and demonstrates the Applicant’s unwillingness to cooperate with Gardaí, nor to have them investigate what can only be categorised as a very serious incident which it would be in the public interest to prosecute. The Applicant’s non-cooperation, together with the unidentified (to the Tribunal) woman’s non-cooperation, (which the Tribunal views as irrelevant to the Applicant’s application for compensation but relevant as to the surrounding circumstances the Gardaí found themselves in) left the Gardaí in a position where investigating the incident and/or achieving a conviction would be near impossible. The Tribunal finds that the Applicant’s actions amount to non-cooperation with Gardaí pursuant to Paragraph 23 of the Scheme.

7. By letter dated [ ] the Applicant’s solicitors wrote to the Tribunal stating their client’s instructions that:

‘it was only when he was told by the nurse in hospital that he had been stabbed that he realized (sic) what had happened and he is happy to clarify this in a written statement to the investigating Garda’.

This cannot be the case as the Applicant’s statement of [ ] explicitly states that the Applicant knew that he had been stabbed.

8. By separate letter also dated [ ] the Applicant’s solicitor wrote to the Superintendent of [ ] Garda Station stating:

‘We have been advised by the secretary for the Tribunal that our client failed to co-operate with a Garda investigation however, we are instructed by our client that this is not the case and that he attended at [ ] Garda Station earlier this year where he left contact details with the Officer at the public desk with a view to making contact with the investigating Garda, Garda [ ] and providing a statement.’

It is not the function to gainsay what the Applicant says in this regard and he may have attended at [ ] Station. However taking his account at its height of attending the station ‘earlier this year’ it must have been a minimum of nine months post incident, and possibly more.

Paragraph 23 of the Scheme requires cooperation with Gardaí; not partial cooperation, nor cooperation when it suits an Applicant. In the instant case Garda [ ] took a statement from the Applicant two days post incident. This was the time when cooperation was needed, not many months later, on the Applicant’s own terms. The Tribunal can only speculate what amount of evidence might have been unavailable to Gardaí were they to attempt to start and investigation many months post incident.

9. The Tribunal therefore finds, for the reasons set out above, that the Applicant has failed to cooperate with Gardaí as required by Paragraph 23 of the Scheme and therefore refused the Applicant’s application for compensation.

10. N/A.

11. N/A.

12. N/A.

13. Nil.

Marc Murphy

Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

5 August 2023