Foilsiú
23886 (22 September 2022)
Ó Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
Ó Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
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: 23886
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: Application refused under Paragraphs 21 and 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’). The Applicant submitted a completed application form in respect of his claim which was received by the Tribunal on [ ].
2. In his application the Applicant states that he suffered injuries, namely a ‘broken jaw and facial cuts’ on [ ] when he was struck from behind with a blunt instrument by an unidentified assailant and robbed of his mobile phone and cash. The Applicant did not report the incident to An Garda Síochána and states that he has a ‘sketchy’ memory of the incident.
3. The Applicant has not submitted any medical report in respect of his injuries.
4. By letter dated [ ] the Tribunal wrote to the Applicant drawing the Applicant’s attention to Article 23 of the Scheme and seeking additional information in order to progress the Applicant’s claim. The Tribunal again wrote to the Applicant on [ ] requesting that further information be provided and stating that if no response was received the application would be forwarded to a Single Member for a decision. The Tribunal received no response to either letter, nor any further information in respect of the Applicant’s claim.
5. Paragraph 21 of the Scheme states:
‘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….’
6. As can be seen, the application was required to have been made to the Tribunal by the Applicant promptly and no less than three months from the date of the incident. In this instance, the application ought to have been lodged with the Tribunal no later than by [ ]. The application was received by the Tribunal on [ ], exactly one year after the date of the incident giving rise to the alleged injuries.
7. There is an onus on an applicant who makes a claim under the Scheme to submit it in accordance with Paragraph 21. A claim that is submitted outside the three-month time limit can only be admitted to the Scheme if the prevailing circumstances permit exceptional treatment of the application. In the instant case no explanation or circumstances have been put forward by the Applicant that would justify exceptional treatment and which would permit the Tribunal to exercise its discretion in favour of admitting the application under the Scheme. The Tribunal therefore refuses to admit the application under Paragraph 21 of the Scheme.
8. Paragraph 23 of the Scheme states:
‘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 proceedings or that it was reported to Gardaí without delay. However, the Tribunal will have discretion to dispense with this requirement 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.’
9. The Applicant, by his own admission, did not report the incident to the Gardaí and has not provided the Tribunal with any evidence of reasonable efforts made by or on the Applicant’s behalf to notice the Gardaí of the incident. The Tribunal therefore refuses to admit the application under Paragraph 23 of the Scheme.
10. For the avoidance of doubt, had the application been admitted under the Scheme, the application would have been refused under paragraph 11 of the Scheme (the obligation to provide all reasonable assistance).
11. N/A.
12. N/A.
13. N/A.
14. Nil.
Marc Murphy
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
22 September 2022