51784 (16 March 2023)

Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted - General Scheme

Single Member Decision

Application of [ ]

Application number: 51784

Name of applicant: [ ]

Date of incident: [ ]

Date application received: [ ]

Decision: No award.

The Applicant applied to the Tribunal arising from an incident which occurred on the [ ] at [ ]. The Applicant and two friends were walking on the public street at night, when they were subjected to an unprovoked violent assault by two males.

The Applicant sustained a fractured nose and double fracture of his jaw in the incident. The Applicant was taken to [ ] Regional Hospital and was attended to in the Accident and Emergency Department. X-Rays revealed bi-lateral fractures of the mandible. He was detained and underwent surgery in theatre under general anaesthetic. The procedure to repair the fractures involved the insertion of plates and pins. The Applicant remained in hospital until the [ ], when he was discharged on strong medication and required regular reviews in the period thereafter.

The incident in this case was reported by emergency calls to An Garda Siochana. Garda members met with the Applicant at the scene and he provided details. The Applicant later made a formal statement of complaint. The matter was investigated and the perpetrators, [ ] and [ ], were prosecuted at [ ] Circuit Criminal Court for Section 3 assault causing harm. Both accused parties pleaded guilty and the Applicant received payment of a total of [ ] by way of compensation.

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 extremely late, being submitted nearly five years after the incident occurred.

The Applicant states in the Application Form that “The case was ongoing until [ ]. Both the offenders entered guilty pleas before it went to trial. Both offenders received convictions and suspended sentences.”

The Application was submitted with a cover letter from the Applicant’s Solicitors dated [ ]. It states “Please note that the delay in submitting this Application Form was on foot of the lengthy timeframe it took for matters to be dealt with in the courts and for the relevant statements to be furnished to us.”

This Member of the Tribunal is not satisfied that the Applicant has established that exceptional circumstances exist in this case to justify exceptional treatment. The Applicant reported the crime immediately to An Garda Siochana. The Scheme does not require a conviction, nor an admission, in respect of the crime. The Scheme does not require that criminal proceedings be concluded, merely that the incident is reported to An Garda Siochana. The Application does not set out any facts or circumstances which might be considered exceptional. This Member of the Tribunal is therefore unable to find that the circumstances of this case are such as to justify exceptional treatment which might render the application admissible.

This Member further notes that the Applicant received a total sum of €[ ] by way of compensation from his assailants. The Applicant’s financial claim under the Scheme amounts to less than this figure. Even if this Member had determined that the circumstances were such as to justify exceptional treatment, the Applicant would have been precluded from any award under the provisions of Paragraph 5 of the Scheme (pre-April 2021).

The Applicant was the victim of a crime of violence which occurred on the [ ] at [ ] when he sustained personal injury. The perpetrators were prosecuted and the Applicant received the sum of €[ ] in compensation.

The completed application was received by the Tribunal on the [ ], nearly five years after the incident. This Member of 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 any further under the terms of Paragraph 21.

This Member further notes that the Applicant received a sum of €[ ] by way of compensation from the perpetrators. The Tribunal would, in those circumstances and given the quantum of the claim made in this application, have been precluded from making an award under Paragraph 5 notwithstanding the late application.

In the circumstances, the Tribunal makes no award.

Dated the 16th day of March 2023.

Cathal Lombard

Tribunal Member