Foilsiú
53403 (11 January 2023)
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 Appeal Tribunal
Name of applicant: [ ]
Application number: 53403
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of receipt of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: Award of €1.540.72
1. Mr. [ ] (‘the appellant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).
2. In his application for compensation under the Scheme, received on [ ], the appellant states that he was the victim of a crime of violence which occurred on [ ] causing him to sustain personal injury.
3. The appellant states that he was hit in the face with a [ ].
4. A single member of the Tribunal made a determination in the appellant’s case at first instance by decision dated [ ]. The appellant exercised his right under Paragraph 24 (formerly Paragraph 25) of the Scheme to appeal this decision by way of hearing by three members of the Tribunal.
5. A panel of three members of the Tribunal was appointed to hear the appeal. It met on [ ] remotely to hear the applicant’s appeal. The appellant was in attendance. The Tribunal considered the case afresh (or de novo), taking into account the papers submitted by the appellant, his oral evidence and the submissions made by him.
6. The appellant gave evidence to the appeal panel in the course of the hearing. He described how he was walking through [ ] when he was followed by his assailant in car. He submitted that there had been interpersonal difficulties between himself and his assailant due to their relationships with women known to both men. He described how his assailant got out of his car and followed him with a [ ] and hit him over the head. The appellant submitted photographs evidencing the damage to his head and eye.
7. The appellant was taken initially to [ ] hospital, [ ] where he was an in-patient between [ ] to [ ]. He was an outpatient in the [ ] Hospital, [ ] from [ ] to [ ].
8. The application was made using the Tribunal’s application form (satisfying paragraph 21, formerly paragraph 22, of the Scheme); and the incident was reported to the gardai on the same night as the incident (satisfying paragraph 22, formerly paragraph 23 of the Scheme). It is also clear from the garda report and the appellant’s direct oral evidence that the appellant was seriously assaulted, and the matter was investigated by the gardai. [ ]. There was no doubt that the Appellant suffered injuries as a consequence of a crime of violence, [ ], which brings the claim into the ambit of the Scheme.
9. An issue arises however with the date upon which the application was received by the Tribunal’s Secretariat, being [ ]. The incident causing the injury occurred on [ ]. At paragraph 20 of the Scheme (formerly paragraph 21) it 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”.
10. The application should therefore have been made on or before [ ] to satisfy the Scheme’s time limits. The Tribunal however is entitled to consider the circumstances by which the late application was made, and it may accept late applications if those circumstances justify exceptional treatment.
11. The appeal panel has carefully considered the evidence adduced by the appellant. It has taken into account the seriousness of the injury and the fact that the Appellant was receiving treatment for his injuries right up until the date he made the application to the Tribunal. The appeal panel considers that these circumstances for the appellant were such as to justify exceptional treatment, and in the circumstances the appeal panel will extend the time for the consideration of the application.
12. The applicant claims special damages, for which he has provided receipts as follows:
(a) Prescriptions: €52.15
(b) Hospital Bill ([ ]): €100
(c) Hospital Bill ([ ]): €75
(d) Loss of Earnings estimated as 2 weeks (€30,253 / 52 = 581.79 x 2): €1,163.57
The Appellant submitted that he had other expenses for prescriptions, travel expense for driving to [ ] and parking whilst in [ ] and damage to the clothes he was wearing on the day the incident occurred. However he submitted that he did not retain the vouchers for these items. In the circumstances the Tribunal awards the sum of €150 for unvouched expenses. The total of the items for which receipts have been provided is the sum of €1,390.72, which added to the sum of €150 for unvouched expenses makes a total of €1,540.72.
13. The appeal panel accepts that the injuries sustained by the appellant involve a personal injury sustained as a result of a crime of violence which occurred in the on [ ]. The appellant has established eligibility for assessment of compensation under the terms of the Scheme.
14. The appeal panel assesses special damages in the sum of €1,540.72.
15. The appeal panel makes an award to the appellant in the total sum of €1,540.72.
Mema Byrne
Elizabeth Maguire
Elizabeth Davey
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
11 January 2023