Publication
55010 (9 March 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: 55010
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: No award can be made as the claim does not exceed the minimum threshold of €500 per Para 9 of the Scheme.
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, received by the Tribunal Secretariat on [ ], the applicant stated that on [ ] she suffered injuries when she was assaulted by a woman outside [ ] pub in [ ]. The applicant said as a result of the assault that she fell to the ground and suffered head and shoulder injuries.
3. A Garda report indicates that the matter was reported shortly after it occurred.
4. 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.
5. The incident was reported to the Gardaí on [ ], shortly after the incident thereby meeting the requirement of Para 22 of the Scheme that the matter be reported without delay. Further, the application was made within three months of the incident, on the Tribunal’s required form, meeting the requirements of Para 20 and 21 of the Scheme.
6. Accordingly, I admit the application for consideration under the Scheme.
7. As a preliminary point the Tribunal wishes to extend its sympathy for the applicant for the experience of having been criminally assaulted and injured. It is important for the Tribunal to express this because the following may seem like a dry and technical application of an administrative scheme and its outcome is not that which the applicant would have hoped for. However the Scheme’s purpose is to recognise the victim of the crime as a person who has been affected by the incident in question. Whether or not for technical reasons an award can be made, it remains important to recognise that the applicant was a victim of crime and that she was injured as a consequence, which a horrible experience that she should not have had to suffer.
8. The Tribunal may 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 that was required or loss of earnings. The Scheme does not allow the Tribunal to make any award for general pain and suffering caused by the injury: Para 6(e) of the Scheme. A further restriction on the Scheme is under paragraph 9 of the Scheme:
“No compensation will be payable unless the Tribunal is satisfied that the injury is such that compensation of not less than €500 should be awarded.”
Effectively this means that the Tribunal can only deal with claims above a value of €500.
9. The applicant stated on her application form that as a result of the incident she suffered a strain and inflammation of the shoulder; and severe inflammation and ecchymosis of the face and tissue/movement loss on the face. She said that she attended the emergency department of [ ] hospital in [ ], the applicant’s home town, on [ ], and a GP’s practice in the following month. She outlined that at the date of application she was still experiencing shoulder and facial pain and loss of movement to the shoulder. She reported that she remained in extreme pain which was impacting her daily life and mental health. She stated that “I have no money to pay private to get the help I need to return to my normal self and relieve my pain”.
10. In an addendum to her application, the applicant set out treatment which it appears that she subsequently sought out and paid for. She submits that she should be recompensed for the stg£250 expended, and submitted invoices for the dry needling treatment that she received. In correspondence with the Tribunal’s secretariat she indicated that she was happy to proceed to decision on the receipts submitted (though it was not expressly indicated to the applicant that her claim fell below Scheme’s threshold).
11. The position is that the receipts for compensation submitted by the applicant are for less than the minimum amount of compensation which the Tribunal is entitled to award. As such, the Tribunal is not entitled to make an award of compensation in this case.
12. The applicant has the right to appeal this decision under paragraph 24 of the Scheme. If she were to appeal, it would be worth her considering whether it is worth obtaining a report detailing what treatment was medically required and by which doctor, if any further treatment is needed, and the value or cost of that treatment either estimated or expended. Any appeal would be a fresh hearing of the case. As such the applicant would be entitled to submit further evidence if she so wished.
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
9 March 2023