Publication
51464 (26 June 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: 51464
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: The application is refused under paragraph 23 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 his application for compensation under the Scheme, received by the Tribunal Secretariat on [ ] is rather sparse on detail of the incident, but states that as a result of it the applicant suffered a fractured femur which required treatment and caused ongoing issues. It transpires from the garda report that the injury was sustained when the applicant was at the front of [ ] concert [ ] when he was thrown to the floor by an unknown male who landed on top of him, breaking his leg.
3. A number of preliminary issues arise in this case. The main issues are whether the applicant’s delay in either reporting the incident to the gardai, or making the application, debars him from compensation.
4. The relevant timeline is that the incident took place on [ ], was reported to the gardai on [ ], and an application for compensation was received by the Tribunal Secretariat on [ ].
5. Two provisions of the Scheme apply. First, paragraph 23 of the Scheme (as worded at the time of the incident) reads (with emphasis added):
“To qualify for compensation it will be necessary to indicate to the Tribunal that the offence giving rise to injury has been the subject of criminal pro-ceedings or that it was reported to the Gardai without delay. However, the Tribunal will have discretion to dispense with this requirement in the case of injuries resulting from offences committed before the commencement of the Scheme, and in other cases where they are satisfied that all reasonable efforts were made by or on behalf of the claimant to notify the Garda Síochána of the offence and to cooperate with them.”
6. While the Tribunal Secretariat expressly drew the qualifying criteria of para 23 to the Applicant’s attention by letter of [ ] he did not respond to that letter.
7. The position is that the applicant did not report the offence without delay, but rather five months after the event. The effect of this, according to the Garda report, was that there was:
“… no description of the suspect was available, no witnesses – I believe this matter cannot be progressed any further by the Gardai”.
8. The second provision relevant to delay is paragraph 21 (numbered 20 in the amended Scheme) which reads:
“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”.
The applicant submitted his application approximately three months outside the Scheme’s timeframe.
9. The applicant attributes the delay in making his application to him getting on with his studies, recovering, and not having known about the Scheme. The former two of these points are matters which may warrant analysis as potential circumstances warranting the exceptional treatment of considering a late application.
10. However the Tribunal is of the opinion the matters raised by the applicant in respect of delay cannot avail the applicant in terms of his tardy reporting of the incident. “All reasonable efforts” to notify the Gardai must generally mean to report within a timeframe that enables the Gardai to investigate the allegations. It was unreasonable to delay for five months in reporting the incident, which delay ultimately prevented any effective investigation of the incident. The Tribunal is of the view that the applicant has not met the qualifying criteria of reporting to the gardai without delay, or alternatively to reasonably notify the gardai and cooperate with them.
11. The above finding is that the applicant’s delay disqualified him from consideration under the Scheme.
12. However for completeness it is noted that the applicant has not made out, on the balance of probabilities, that he was the victim of a crime of violence. It may be that he suffered an assault at a concert However it appears from the Garda report that the applicant was at the front of a [ ] concert, at which crowd surfing, moshing and vigorous dancing are commonplace.. There is no evidence as to how active an audience member the applicant was. The basic facts of the incident have no independent corroboration to go as far as stating that an assault occurred.
13. Finally, the applicant has not supplied any evidence of any injury or expense arising from the incident. Therefore even had the application met the qualifying framework the applicant has not evidenced losses of the type that might be claimed as compensation under the Scheme.
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
26 June 2022