Publication
51532 (15 August 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: 51532
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: Application refused under Paragraph 21 of the Scheme.
1. [ ] (‘the Applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’). The Applicant submitted a completed application form in respect of his claim which was received by the Tribunal on [ ].
2. The Applicant was out with friends at the [ ] the night of [ ]. The Applicant and his friends were refused a drink and were in the process of leaving the pub when several youths began fighting outside the pub. The Applicant was not involved in this incident but some of his friends sustained injury as part of the disturbance. According to the Garda report the Applicant ‘stuck his head out the door of the pub while this was going on and received a blow to the face which resulted in him receiving a fractured jaw’.
3. The youths were not identified and no prosecutions ensued. The Applicant has not received any compensation for his injury. The Applicant now claims for loss of earnings and out-of-pocket expenses.
4. The Tribunal wrote to the Applicant’s solicitor on [ ] and again on [ ] enquiring whether the Applicant wished to proceed with his application for compensation. No response was received to this correspondence and the application was sent for decision.
5. Paragraph 21 of the Scheme states:
‘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. As can be seen, the application was required to have been made to the Tribunal by the Applicant promptly and no less than three months from the date of the incident. In this instance, the application ought to have been lodged with the Tribunal no later than by [ ]. The application was received by the Tribunal on [ ], over five months after the date of the incident giving rise to the alleged injuries.
7. There is an onus on an applicant who makes a claim under the Scheme to submit it in accordance with Paragraph 21. A claim that is submitted outside the three-month time limit can only be admitted to the Scheme if the prevailing circumstances permit exceptional treatment of the application. In the instant case no explanation or circumstances have been put forward by the Applicant that would justify exceptional treatment and which would permit the Tribunal to exercise its discretion in favour of admitting the application under the Scheme. The Tribunal therefore refuses to admit the application under Paragraph 21 of the Scheme.
8. N/A.
9. N/A.
10. N/A.
11. N/A.
Marc Murphy
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
15 August 2023