Foilsiú
23515 (23 May 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: 23515
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: The application is refused under under Article 13 (previously article 14) and Article 22 (previously Article 23) of the scheme.
1. Mr [ ] (‘the applicant’), date of birth: [ ], a sheet metal worker has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).
2. This application for compensation under the Scheme, dated [ ] relates to an incident which occurred on the [ ] at the [ ] Restaurant [ ], [ ].
The Applicant states that on that night in that Takeaway he was struck a number of time while waiting in the queue for food. During the course of the assault he was struck with a full can of beer in the left eye region. X-rays subsequently established that his cheekbone was broken and he underwent an operation in [ ] Hospital.
On the night in question following a call to An Garda Siochana they attended at the Applicant’s home in [ ]. They spoke to the Applicants son who did not know what An Garda Siochana were talking about and they left believing that the call was a bogus call. They never received any further contact from Mr [ ].
The Secretariat subsequently wrote to An Garda Siochana seeking the standard details .They subsequently spoke with Mr [ ]. In their reply letter of the [ ] they stated that “Mr [ ] knows the individual who assaulted but says that he cannot tell us his name, he also declined to make a statement of complaint about the incident and stated that he does not wish to have to give evidence in Court”.
The member in question also stated that he spoke to a [ ] who says that on the night in question the applicant came into the take away with a fellow. Both were slagging each other and both had drink taken. She then saw that Mr [ ] and this other fellow were fighting and that Mr [ ] was bleeding from the left eye. The conclusion from An Garda Siochana is that it appears that an incident did take place on the night in question but not as stated on the application form.
An invoice for £33.00 was submitted as part of Mr [ ] application. His employer stated that he was unavailable for work for four weeks from the [ ] to the [ ] and that his average net earnings were €604.85 per week.
On the [ ] the Garda Report was furnished to the Applicants Solicitors. It was pointed out that the account of the incident as set out in the application form differed from the Garda Report and comments were invited.
In their response of the [ ] the Applicant insisted that his version of events was correct and that the assistant working in the takeaway on the night may have been under a misapprehension that the parties in question were together.
However, no response was given in relation to the fact that it was stated that the Applicant declined to make a statement of complaint and also made it very obvious that he would not attend Court to given evidence.
The Applicant’s Solicitors were notified of this on the [ ] and no response was received to same. The Applicant’s Solicitors were again written to on the [ ] to enquire to know if the Applicant still wished to engage with the process. Again no response has been received to same.
3. Provides “no compensation will be payable where the Tribunal is satisfied that the conduct of the victim, his character or his way of life make it inappropriate that he should be granted an award and the Tribunal may reduce the amount of the award where in its opinion it is appropriate to do so having regard to the conduct, character or way of life of the victim”.
4. Article 22 provides: “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”.
The Applicant made it very clear to the Member of An Garda Siochana regarding this matter that he was:
(a) Not going to give a statement.
(b) Not going to give evidence in Court.
(c) That he knew the assailant.
In his application form he states that he was set upon by a number of parties who he did not know. There is a clear contradiction of what he stated to Sergeant [ ] and what he stated in his application form.
There is an obligation on the Applicant to comply with the terms of the scheme under Article 22. It is clear that the incident in question was never the subject of criminal proceedings because of the Applicants refusal to make a complaint and his stated unwillingness to given evidence in Court.
These facts also bring into account Article 13 where “no compensation will be payable where the Tribunal is satisfied that the conduct of the victim etc make it inappropriate that he should be granted an award.” His conduct in refusing to cooperate with An Garda Siochana ,making it clear that he knew his alleged assailant, and his refusal to give evidence clearly establishes that no compensation should.
Accordingly the Application is dismissed under Article 13 (previously article 14) and Article 22 (previously Article 23) of the scheme.
Martin G Lawlor
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
Dated: 23 May 2022