Foilsiú
51134 (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: #51134
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of receipt of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: No award: Application received out of time.
[ ] (“the Applicant”) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (“the Scheme”). In his application, received by the Tribunal on the [ ], the Applicant claims that he received lacerations to his face in an assault upon him at the [ ] and that the matter was reported to Garda [ ] of [ ] Garda Station by the staff of the [ ] in the aftermath of the assault. The Applicant claims that he attended the Emergency Department of [ ] Hospital [ ] on the night of the assault, and some days later his attended his GP, [ ], in [ ]. Receipts have been provided by the Applicant to confirm these attendances. The Applicant also claims that he attended the [ ] Medical Practice [ ] as well as a plastic surgery clinic at the [ ] in respect of his injuries, though no vouching documentation to that effect has been provided to the Tribunal.
The Tribunal acknowledged receipt of the Applicant’s application on the [ ]. As the Tribunal did not hear from the Applicant after that, it wrote most recently, on the [ ] to the Applicant at his home address in [ ] and requested that he inform the Tribunal if he intended pursuing his claim, and if so to forward any further relevant vouching documentation he had to support his claim. In response, the Applicant noted that he had no further receipts and requested that his file be sent forward for decision making.
This application was received by the Tribunal on the [ ], which was over five months after the incident complained of the subject matter of the application, and therefore two months beyond the three-month time-frame afforded to applicants to submit an application under the terms of the Scheme.
Paragraph 20 (formerly Paragraph 21) of the Scheme states that:
“Application 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 three-month deadline set out therein for receipt of applications. Where the Tribunal deems that the circumstances for delay in submitting an application are such as to justify exceptional treatment, it may accept that application for further consideration. In the instant case, at section 2 (f) of his application form, the Applicant has stated that the reason for his delay in submitting his application was as follows:
“I thought that I had lost the receipts, but I found them today (3/2/09)”
The Tribunal is of the view that the reason given by the Applicant for the delay in submitting his application does not justify exceptional treatment such that the Tribunal will accept this application for further consideration, accordingly the Tribunal makes no award.
Application received out of time: no award.
Nora Pat Stewart
23 May 2022