Foilsiú
51858 (28 October 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: #51858
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of receipt of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: No award, by reason of paragraph 20 of the scheme.
[ ] (“the Applicant”) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (“the Scheme”).
The Applicant’s claim is that he was assaulted at a private resident by a known individual [ ]. The Gardaí at [ ] Garda Station were called to the scene of the incident.
The Applicant claims that he suffered three stab wounds: one to his side; one to his stomach; and, one to his chest in this attack and that he had to undergo surgery on his chest at [ ] Hospital where he remained an in-patient for ten days and that he also attended his own GP [ ] in [ ] for treatment after that.
At the time of submitting his application to the Tribunal, the Applicant claimed that he still suffered from constant chest pains from where his rib cage had been broken due to the surgery to treat his stab wounds. The Applicant’s claim is that he also suffered from trauma in the aftermath of the assault and had difficulty socialising and sleeping. Further, the Applicant states that as an apprentice [ ] at the time of the attack, the injuries he sustained prevented him from working from [ ] to [ ] and as a result of being out of work, he could not finish his apprenticeship and was the first one to be let go due to costs. The Applicant complains that he suffered from trouble with his confidence going for job interviews after that.
This Application was received by the Tribunal on [ ] which was over three years and four months after the incident complained of, the subject matter of this application, and over three years after the tie permitted, in normal course, under the terms of the Scheme for submission of applications.
Paragraph 20 (formerly 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 …”
It is clear from paragraph 20 that the Tribunal is not completely bound by the prescribed three-month period for receipt of applications where it finds that circumstances for the delay in submitting an application are such as to justify exceptional treatment of that application, it can deem that application eligible for further consideration.
The Scheme’s application form provides applicants with the opportunity, at section 2 (f), to set out their reasons for the delay, if any, in submitting their application. In the instant case, the Applicant stated at s. 2 (f):
“I) waiting for the trial to finish and to see if there was an appeal. 2) garda never told me I was entitled to make a claim, it was a friend that told me.”
It is clear from the terms of the Scheme that it is not necessary to await the conclusion of a trial before submitting an application seeking compensation to the Tribunal. Furthermore, lack of knowledge of the Scheme has never been considered a reason for delay that the Tribunal considers would warrant exceptional circumstances of an application.
The question must be posed in the instant case as to whether there anything on the Applicant’s file which would indicate a reasonableness for delay in submitting his application over three years after the incident, the subject matter of the application?
The Tribunal has been furnished with a Medical Report from the Applicant’s GP Dr [ ], dated [ ]. Dr [ ] noted therein that the Applicant had been witness to a murder in [ ] and was at that point (i.e., April [ ]) suffering from chronic anxiety, as a result of the impending trial. Dr [ ] noted that while the Applicant had made considerable improvement in the intervening time (i.e., since witnessing the murder in [ ] up to [ ]) and had returned to a normal state of mind, he was having a relapse of neurosis now that the trial was impending, and that the past two months, i.e., [ ] and [ ], had been very stressful for him. Dr [ ] noted that the Applicant had difficulty performing on his FAS course and in relaxing, as the accused was out on bail and lived in his neighbourhood, and that as the case had been postponed, the Applicant had to endure another period of stress.
It is clear that Dr [ ] Report was prepared for the purposes of a court hearing and it set out the Applicant’s fear in relation to an impending court case and any further delays that may occur. The Applicant’s GP note was written on the [ ], one year and nine months prior to the Applicant submitting his application to the Tribunal. Dr [ ] noted in his Report that the Applicant had returned to his normal state of mind in the intervening time post [ ], and also refenced his undertaking of a FAS Course. By reason of the foregoing, the Tribunal considers that the reason for delay in submitting this application over three years after the incident complained of, does not warrant exceptional treatment and therefore is not amenable to further consideration by the Tribunal.
Whilst the Tribunal acknowledges the injuries sustained by the Applicant in the attack of [ ] and his upset thereafter in respect of the trial for murder, his GP’s report of [ ], written some 21 months prior to the submission of his application, indicates that the Applicant was stressed about the impending trial. It does not indicate that the Applicant was in such a position health wise, as to be unable to submit an application for compensation under the terms of the Scheme. Furthermore, the reasons the Applicant set out in section 2 (f) of his application are not ones that the Tribunal considers warrant exceptional treatment of an application. Regrettably therefore, the Tribunal cannot consider this application further and makes no award.
The Tribunal wishes the Applicant well into the future.
No award
Nora Pat Stewart
28 October 2022