Publication
50981 (14 September 2022)
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: 50981
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: No award as claim not substantiated.
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, received by the Tribunal Secretariat on [ ], the applicant states that he suffered multiple injuries, including head injuries, broken ribs and stab wounds as a result of a number of assaults at a house at [ ] in [ ].
3. Para 22 (formerly paragraph 21) of the Scheme requires that applications for compensation under the Scheme should be made within three months, but that this time frame may be extended where the Tribunal is of the view that the circumstances warrant exceptional treatment. In this case the injuries were sustained on [ ] and thus the application should have been made on or before [ ]. It was made over two months later, on [ ].
4. The applicant states that he did not meet the three-month deadline due to feelings of depression and lack of motivation. For this threshold test, the Tribunal accepts on the balance of probabilities the applicant suffered significant injuries which are likely to have had a psychological impact. This impact was described in other sections of the application form. The two-month delay is not considered disproportionate in the circumstances. The Tribunal therefore extends the time within which the application can be made and admits it for further consideration.
5. There is a Garda Report on file dated [ ]. Albeit somewhat sparse in detail it confirms that the applicant was assaulted, that he has no previous convictions, and that proceedings against his assailants have been initiated.
6. 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.
7. The applicant gave a description of his injuries and stated that there was a psychological impact which included a loss of motivation. However there is no medical report on file, neither is any invoice or fee for any treatment or other quantifiable loss arising from the injuries sustained.
8. On [ ] the Tribunal Secretariat wrote to the applicant’s solicitor asking, among other things, for details supported by documentary evidence of any expenses sustained as a result of the injuries. It appears that no response to this letter was received and a follow-up was sent more than a decade later on [ ]. This letter also asked whether the applicant still wished to pursue his claim. A final follow-up in similar form, again asking for documentary evidence of losses, was sent by the Tribunal Secretariat on [ ]. It appears that no reply to this letter was received.
9. The Tribunal is only entitled to award for expenses directly attributable to a crime of violence. It cannot award general damages for pain and suffering: para 6(e) of the Scheme. Therefore while the Tribunal is of the opinion that the applicant did suffer injuries which caused him suffering, it cannot make an award of damages if no evidence of quantifiable losses is furnished to the Tribunal.
10. In this case, no claim for losses which are capable of any award by the Tribunal has been made. The Tribunal therefore makes no award.
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
14 September 2022