51988 (22 November 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: 51988

Date of incident: [ ]

Date of application: [ ]

Decision outcome: No award of compensation, as no recoverable losses claimed.

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 [ ], the applicant stated that he had suffered injuries on [ ] on the [ ] when he was beaten over the head, face back and chest in an assault that required his transfer by ambulance to [ ]. He says he beaten unconscious and was in hospital for five or six days as a result of his injuries and that he still had dizziness, anxiety and a loss of balance which he attributed to the incident. A Garda report confirms that the applicant’s assailants were convicted of assault and theft.

3. On his application form the applicant states that he suffered no loss of earnings and that he was claiming for no expenses. Email from the applicant’s solicitor dated [ ] confirmed that the applicant had a medical card and therefore was claiming no special damages, and that he was not in employment so claimed no loss of earnings. This was in response to correspondence seeking further information and/or vouching document should the applicant wish to progress his claim. Neither through his solicitor, nor through the applicant himself, was any correspondence received indicating any different position.

4. While other matters would normally warrant consideration in this case (for example, whether discretion could be exercised to extend the normal three-month deadline within which applications should be made), the fact that no expenses or loss of earnings are claimed in this claim effectively means that no claim falling within the terms of the Scheme has been made. This is because the Tribunal is limited by the Scheme in respect of the type of compensation it may award. It may only 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 permit the Tribunal to make any award for general pain and suffering caused by the injury. This is set out at paragraph 6(e) of the Scheme.

5. As such, while the applicant undoubtedly suffered a serious assault which the Tribunal must acknowledge was distressing and painful, there is no item of losses in respect of which the Tribunal is entitled to make an award of compensation.

6. Regretfully therefore no award of compensation is made in this case.

Tricia Sheehy Skeffington

Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

22 November 2023