51587 (16 March 2023)

Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted

Decision of one member of the Tribunal pursuant to section 25 of the Scheme

Applicant: [ ]

Date of incident: [ ]

Date of application: [ ]

Case reference: 51587

Decision: Pursuant to Paragraph 11 of the Scheme, no award of compensation will be made.

1. [ ] (“the applicant”) has made a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (“the Scheme”).
   
2. The application form was signed by the applicant on [ ].
   
3. The application form was stamped as received by the Tribunal on [ ].
   
4. A decision awarding the applicant an interim award of compensation was made in writing by a Member of the Tribunal on [ ] and submitted to the applicant under cover of letter dated [ ] the secretariat of the Tribunal. The Tribunal had had the benefit of further correspondence between the applicant and the secretariat of the Tribunal with respect to the applicant’s change of address and new bank account details.
   
5. By letter dated [ ], the applicant formally accepted the award of compensation which was made to her.
   
6. By letter dated [ ], the secretariat of the Tribunal wrote applicant asking if she wished to pursue her claim for further compensation, and, if so, seeking documentary evidence to substantiate the claim. The applicant was informed that, that if no reply was received to the letter then the application would be forwarded to a member of the Tribunal for decision.
   
7. No reply to this letter was received.

8. Paragraph 11 of the Scheme reads:

“No compensation will be payable to an applicant who has not, in the opinion of the Tribunal, given the Tribunal all reasonable assistance, in relation to any medical report that it may require, and otherwise.”

9. In determining whether a lack of reasonable assistance has been given such that compensation is not payable, consideration must be given to the scope and purpose of Paragraph 11. It effectively cuts applicants off from compensation and is thus a far-reaching provision. Its purpose is to serve as a sanction against those who do not co-operate with the Tribunal – its secondary purpose is to encourages applicants to give the Tribunal reasonable assistance.

10. The Tribunal should not rely on paragraph 11 to deny an applicant the potential for compensation in an irrational or arbitrary way. It seems logical to take into account two main factors: (i) the nature of the information or assistance sought by the Tribunal (and in particular whether its absence prevents a proper decision being made) and (ii) the frequency of requests and time elapsed wherein no adequate response has been received by the Tribunal.

11. In the facts of this case, the applicant was awarded an interim award of compensation, but there are no documents on file to substantiate any claim for any further award of compensation. The last communication from the applicant was her letter of acceptance of the interim award in [ ].

12. It is observed that without evidence of any further expenses incurred, particulars of miscellaneous expenses or any documentation relating to employment-related income since the incident, there is no information upon which the Tribunal can base any new assessment of compensation, having regard to the value of any social welfare benefits received by the applicant as a result of his injury.

13. The documents in question are integral to the formation of any determination.

14. The Tribunal finds that because of the integral nature of the documentation sought to the decision-making process, and the elapse of time with no communication from the Applicant (despite request), that there has been a failure to give reasonable assistance to the Tribunal. As a result, applying Paragraph 11 of the Scheme, no compensation is payable to the Applicant.

Peter Stafford BL

Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

16 March 2023