Foilsiú
53727 (10 May 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 a Single Member
Name of applicant: [ ]
Application number: 53727
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: The applicant is awarded the sum of €480 under the Scheme.
1. [ ] (‘the applicant’) 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 by the Tribunal’s Secretariat on [ ], the applicant stated that he had suffered injuries when he was attacked, beaten up and stabbed near the [ ] in [ ] on [ ] by people [ ].
3. The incident occurred a couple of days before the applicant’s child was born and he states that as a result of his injuries he was unable to hold his baby, and that he was in fear, he could not work for 10 weeks and he lost personal property.
4. From the foregoing, and indeed from the Garda Report which supports the applicant’s factual account, I am satisfied that the applicant has established, on the balance of probabilities, that he was a victim of a crime of violence and sustained personal injury which is directly attributable to that crime of violence.
5. The incident was reported to the Gardaí on the date of the incident thereby meeting the requirement of Para 22 of the Scheme (that the matter be reported without delay). Further, the application was made within three months of the incident, meeting the requirements of Para 20 of the Scheme.
6. Accordingly, I admit the application for consideration under the Scheme.
7. The Tribunal may make awards of compensation for expenses that are incurred as a consequence of the injury sustained by a crime of violence. This might cover the cost of treatment or loss of earnings. However the Scheme does not allow the Tribunal to make any award for general pain and suffering caused by the injury: Para 6(e) of the Scheme. It also cannot compensate for items of personal property which were stolen, as these are not covered by the terms of the Scheme.
8. In this case the incident clearly caused great distress and personal items were stolen from the applicant. The Tribunal wishes to acknowledge this. While it cannot make a monetary award for the distress or loss of property, it can extend its sincere sympathy to the applicant for having had to endure what was clearly a traumatic incident close in time to the significant event of his baby being born.
9. The applicant has made a claim for loss of earnings and for medical expenses, which are now examined in turn.
10. The applicant stated that he was unable to work for eleven weeks as a result of the incident. Tax accountants retained by the applicant estimated that his weekly earnings for the period between [ ] and [ ] were approximately €800 per week. It is unclear how this figure was calculated.
11. The applicant submitted a P60 for the prior year ([ ]), which showed gross combined earnings for the applicant and his spouse, but which identified emoluments to the applicant as [ ] €13,080 for that year. A similar return for 2016 was submitted, which identified his [ ] earnings at €24,139. During the relevant period the applicant received €2,000 in social welfare payment, which was characterised as an ‘exceptional needs payment’.
12. A letter sent by the Tribunal Secretariat on [ ] to the applicant’s solicitor asked for further information on the loss of earnings in circumstances in which it appeared that the exceptional needs payment exceeded the losses sustained. No response to this letter was received.
13. Assessing the above, it is not apparent what the losses sustained by the applicant were during the relevant period. This is because his income appears to have increased in [ ], which is the year in which the absence from work was claimed. While there may be a reason for this no explanation was supplied. The Tribunal cannot find, on the balance of probabilities, that there was a loss of earnings during the relevant period and as such it cannot award any compensation under this heading.
14. Turning now to medical expenses. The applicant submitted the following items:
[ ] Receipt for €55 from Dr [ ]
[ ] Payment of €350 to [ ]
Payment demand from [ ] hospital for €75
15. The medical report gave useful context to the injuries sustained, and while it was not requested by the Tribunal its cost will be allowed as it gave context to the other two items submitted, and clarified their necessity as arising from the criminally inflicted injuries.
16. As such an award in the sum of €480 is made under this heading.
17. The Tribunal awards the sum of €480 in compensation for the criminally inflicted injuries sustained by the applicant on [ ].
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
10 May 2023