53051 (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: 53051

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 [ ] and submitted to the Tribunal under cover of letter from her legal representative dated [ ].
3. In her application, the applicant stated that she was injured on [ ] as the result of a violent sexual attack which took place in [ ]. As a result of this incident, the applicant suffered significant personal injuries.
4. The Tribunal has had the benefit of a statement given by the applicant to An Garda Siochana on [ ]. By letter dated [ ], enclosing the applicant’s application form, the applicant’s legal representative stated that the applicant’s assailant was convicted in [ ] Court.
5. By letter dated [ ], the secretariat of the Tribunal wrote to the legal representative of the applicant acknowledging receipt of the application form. The Secretariat of the Tribunal requested the applicant that when her symptoms had stabilised, to submit relevant vouchers and receipts to substantiate the claim for out of pocket expenses, and loss of earnings including her P60 and seeking further particulars of any social welfare payments received.
6. On [ ], the secretariat of the Tribunal wrote again to the applicant’s legal representative noting that if no reply was received to the letter of [ ], enclosing the vouching documentation sought 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 only documentation received by the Tribunal are (a) the application form, (b) the Garda Statement and (c) a cover letter from the applicant’s legal representative. The applicant did not submit any documentation relating to any period of time during which she was absent from work due to her injuries. She did not submit documents which quantify any loss of earnings or details of any social welfare payments received. On that basis, it is not possible to quantify the applicant’s claim for compensation.

12. The applicant claimed for out of pocket expenses arising from her injuries. No documents or receipts were sent to the Tribunal by the applicant.

13. It is observed that without evidence of the 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 an assessment of compensation, having regard to the value of any social welfare benefits received by the applicant as a result of his injury.

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

15. The Tribunal requested supporting documents from the applicant’s legal representative on [ ] and [ ]. No response to these requests for documentation have been received. This correspondence was to the applicant’s solicitor. If there were issues in transmitting the requests to the applicant, the Tribunal has not been informed of these. The incident occurred in [ ] and the failure to submit these documentations has not been explained.

16. 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