F/52959 (16 January 2023)

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: F/52959

Date of incident: [ ]

Date of application: [ ]

Decision outcome: The application is refused under paragraph 21 of the Scheme and paragraph 11.

1. [ ] has made a claim on behalf of herself and the deceased’s [ ] dependents for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).

2. In her application for compensation under the Scheme, received on the [ ], the Applicant claims compensation as a result of the fatal killing of her partner of [ ] years, [ ], who died as a result of [ ].

3. There is a Garda report on file dated the [ ], stating that [ ] died as a result of [ ]. [ ] males were charged with the murder. Prior to his death, [ ] (deceased) had [ ] previous convictions, ranging from traffic offences to public order offences. The latest offence was for [ ] or which he received a [ ]-year prison sentence.

4. Paragraph 21 of the scheme is relevant in this case as the application was not made within the three-month time limit. Paragraph 21 of the scheme 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’. It is noted that this application was submitted four months after the incident.

5. There is no clear explanation on the application form as to why there was a delay in submitting same.

6. The Tribunal’s role at this juncture, is to assess if the claim was made ‘as soon as possible and not later than three months after the accident’. It is clear based on the information before it, that this is not the situation in this case as the application was made outside of the required time limit and no explanation was offered for same. There is no objective evidence to suggest that the Applicant could not make the application, for example, during the time limit.

7. In the circumstances, and in the absence of any evidence providing an objectively reasonable explanation as to why the delay should allow for exceptional treatment, the Tribunal is bound by the terms of scheme and finds that this application falls outside of the time limit set out in Section 21, and therefore, unfortunately,the application must fail.

8. Further, or in the alternative, the Applicant has failed to give the Tribunal reasonable assistance as per paragraph 11 of the scheme.

9. Paragraph 11 of the original scheme states that ‘No compensation will be payable to an applicant who has not, in the opinion of the Tribunal, given the Tribunal all reasonable assistance, in relation to any medical report that it may require, and otherwise’

10. In this respect, the Tribunal wrote to the Applicant on the [ ], asking her if she wished to pursue her claim and asking her to respond by the [ ], if she so wished. No response has been received in this respect. In the circumstances the Tribunal finds that the Applicant’s claim must fail.

11. The Tribunal is very mindful of the fact that the Applicant and her family have suffered terrible grief following the tragic loss of her partner and it expresses its sincere condolences in this respect.

Majella Twomey

Chairperson, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

16 January 2023