51667 (19 September 2022)

Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted - General Scheme

Single Member Decision

Application of [ ]

Application number: 51667

Name of applicant: [ ]

Date of incident: [ ]

Date application received: [ ]

Decision: No award.

The Applicant applied to the Tribunal arising from a violent crime which occurred in the early hours of the [ ] in [ ]. The Applicant was the subject of an assault by three males. The Applicant was kicked in face suffered bruising and swelling around his right eye and a fracture of his nose.

The incident in this case was reported to An Garda Siochana at [ ] Garda Station and the Applicant subsequently made a formal statement of complaint. The incident was investigated and the perpetrators were prosecuted. There is no record in the application papers to indicate whether Applicant received compensation as part of the criminal proceedings.

The General Scheme provides that the Tribunal may pay compensation for out-of-pocket expenses in respect of personal injury, where the injury is directly attributable to a crime of violence, subject to the provisions of the Scheme. Amounts claimed must be vouched and/or supported by appropriate documentation. The Tribunal is entirely responsible for deciding in any particular case whether compensation is payable under the scheme.

Paragraph 21 of the General Scheme (pre-April 2021) states that “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”. In this case the application was received on the [ ] and was substantially late, being submitted more than fourteen months after the incident occurred.

Paragraph 2(f) of the Application Form states “If it over three months from date of incident to date of submission of application, please give reasons for delay as requires under Article 21 of the Scheme”. In reply, the Applicant stated “The reason for the delay is that I was not aware of my right to make a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. The criminal proceedings relating to my claim are still ongoing”.

The Application Form was received under cover of letter dated [ ] from [ ] Solicitors. They acknowledged the lateness of the application, but submitted that their client had just turned eighteen years and wasn’t aware of his rights in respect of claiming. As soon as they were in a position to advise him properly, the Applicant instructed the Solicitors to lodge an application on his behalf.

The Applicant was the victim of a crime of violence which occurred on the [ ] in [ ] when he sustained personal injury. The matter was reported to An Garda Siochana and the perpetrators were prosecuted.

The completed application was received by the Tribunal on the [ ] and was substantially late. The reason offered for the late application was that the Applicant was of a young age and was not aware of his right to make an application to the Tribunal. Unfortunately, notwithstanding any degree of goodwill to the Applicant, lack of awareness of the scheme or the Applicant’s right to make an application has never been accepted as amounting to circumstances which justify “exceptional treatment” such that the application could be admissible under Paragraph 21.

In the circumstances, the Tribunal makes no award.

Dated the 19th day of September 2022.

Cathal Lombard

Tribunal Member