51711 (28 July 2022)

Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted - General Scheme

Single Member Decision

Application of [ ]

Application number: 51711

Name of applicant: [ ]

Date of incident: [ ]

Date application received: [ ]

Decision: No award

The Applicant applied to the Tribunal arising from an incident which occurred in the early hours of the [ ] at [ ]. The Applicant was after socialising with friends and was walking to a pizza restaurant with friends when he was subjected to an unprovoked assault causing significant damage to his teeth.

The incident in this case was reported to An Garda Siochana and the Applicant made a formal statement of complaint. The matter was investigated and the perpetrator, [ ], was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to Assault Causing Harm. The Applicant received payment of compensation in the sum of €9,800 arising from 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 25 months after the incident occurred.

The Applicant states that he waited to receive clarity as to the precise nature and cost of dental work ultimately required. He states that he was not sure at the outset what the costs would be and whether an application would be necessary.

The Tribunal takes the view that the extent of the injury was clear at an early stage. Whilst the ultimate cost of treatment may not have been known, this was not an impediment to lodging an application in advance of the final costs crystalising. The application was received more than two years after the incident, which would be outside the statutory limitation period in respect of a civil case for personal injuries and outside the maximum period within which the Tribunal may apply exceptional treatment under the current scheme as amended on the [ ].

Taking all the circumstances into consideration, this Tribunal Member is not satisfied that the circumstances of this case are such as to justify exceptional treatment.

The Applicant was the victim of a crime of violence which occurred on the [ ] in [ ] when he sustained personal injury.

The completed application was received by the Tribunal on the [ ], in excess of twenty five months after the incident. The Tribunal does not find that the circumstances of this case are such as to justify exceptional treatment. The application was received substantially outside the permitted time period and the Tribunal is unable to consider the application further in accordance Paragraph 21.

In the circumstances, the Tribunal makes no award.

Dated: 28 July 2022

Signed: Cathal Lombard, Tribunal Member