Publication
10495 (17 January 2023)
From Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Published on
Last updated on
From Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Published on
Last updated on
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: 10495
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: No award can be made as no claim for losses has been evidenced.
1. [ ] (‘the applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).
2. In her application for compensation under the Scheme, dated [ ] the applicant stated that she had suffered injuries in [ ]. The application form does not disclose the nature of the incident, and it appears that no Garda record was retrievable when the Tribunal Secretariat sought it in [ ].
3. Subsequent correspondence through the applicant’s solicitor supplied medical reports. These disclose that the [ ] incident was a rape which traumatised the applicant to such a significant extent that her memory of the incident was impaired. The medical reports confirm that applicant was sexually assaulted as a [ ]-year-old child. Contemporaneous counselling and medical reports corroborate the fact of the crime committed, and its serious impact on the applicant.
4. While the matter was progressed in [ ], in that year the applicant withdrew the authority from her solicitors to act on her behalf. She did not respond to subsequent correspondence from the Tribunal Secretariat (dated [ ] and [ ]).
5. Paragraph 20 of the Scheme (formerly para 21) states (with emphasis added):
"Applications should be made as soon as possible but, except in circumstances determined by the Tribunal to justify exceptional treatment, not later than three months after the event giving rise to the injury".
6. In order to assess whether a late application is admissible therefore, the Tribunal must determine whether there are circumstances, which on its consideration, justify exceptional treatment. In doing so the Tribunal must interpret the scheme in a broad, liberal and generous manner that adequately responds to the circumstances of the victim of crime in their particular case. In this case the trauma experienced by the applicant is such that her application should be considered notwithstanding its late submission.
7. 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. Accordingly, I admit the application for consideration under the Scheme.
8. It is important to note that the Tribunal only has the power to make awards of compensation for expenses and losses that are incurred as a consequence of the injury sustained by a crime of violence. The compensation might therefore 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. It is expressly prevented from doing so under Para 6(e) of the Scheme.
9. In this case the applicant has not submitted any details of her medical expenses or of any loss of earnings. While it appears from the file that counselling expenses were incurred, and further counselling might be required, no detail was given in respect of these expenses.
10. The Tribunal can only assess the evidence before it. It cannot guess how much money might have been spent or how much may be needed for future counselling or other treatment, or how the applicant may have lost out on earnings. It is because the Tribunal does not have this detail that it is unfortunately not in a position to make an award of compensation in this case.
11. The Tribunal notes that the applicant has a right of appeal from this decision, and if she were to exercise that right she would be entitled to submit further documents which might better establish any right to damages that she might have.
12. However regrettably in this case the Tribunal has no option but to decline the application, simply because it has no evidence upon which to assess the applicant’s losses.
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
17 January 2023