Foilsiú
51165 (5 September 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: 51165
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision/outcome: The applicant is awarded the sum of €88 under the Scheme.
1. Mr [ ] (‘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, dated [ ], the applicant stated that he had suffered head and neck injuries when he was attacked in the service station in which he was worked in [ ] on [ ].
3. The application was made within the three-month time period and was reported to the gardai on the date of the incident. The Garda Report details that the applicant was a victim of a violent crime in the manner claimed by him, and that he suffered injuries as a result.
4. From the foregoing, 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. Accordingly, I admit the application for consideration under the Scheme.
5. The applicant states that he sustained head injuries as a result of the incident, that he was off work for a time, and that the psychological impact of the incident was such that he was unable to work at night upon his resumption of employment.
6. The applicant submitted receipts for medical treatment in the sum of €20 from Dr [ ] on [ ]; and for €66 in respect of the treatment he received in the casualty department of [ ] General Hospital on the night of the assault. These expenses, totalling €88, are directly attributable to the injury criminally sustained and are capable of being awarded under the terms of the Scheme in operation in [ ].
7. The applicant received €751.60 in occupational injury benefit for the period between [ ] and [ ], plus a further €170.30 for the period [ ]. The applicant supplied medical certificates of unfitness for work covering the period [ ] and [ ].
8. The applicant has also supplied a letter from his employer dated [ ] stating that the applicant’s hourly rate of pay went from €11 per hour to €10 per hour after the assault as a consequence of his inability to work night shifts. It appears that this was acquired in response to a letter from the Tribunal Secretariat of [ ] seeking details of the applicant’s absence from work and net loss of earnings.
9. In [ ] a firm of solicitors came on record for the applicant; they sought and were sent a copy of his file by the Tribunal Secretariat on [ ]. The Secretariat’s cover letter sought confirmation of whether the full extent of the applicant’s claim had been set out. In particular it noted that a loss of earnings could not be made on out the documents given, in particular as social welfare payments had been paid to him.
10. No response was received to this letter and on [ ] the Tribunal Secretariat sent it again to the applicant’s solicitors, under cover of a letter which enquired as to whether the claim was still being pursued. No response to this letter is on file.
11. While in this application a claim of loss of earnings has been made it has not been substantiated. It appears that some occupational injury benefit was paid to the applicant, though it is not clear whether this covered the full amount of his loss of earnings. Similarly, while there is a letter on file which states that the applicant’s hourly rate decreased in the absence of any knowledge of the amount of hours worked by the applicant pre- and post- accident it is impossible to quantify the loss, if any. That the applicant may have secured other employment or been given more shifts after the event are unknown quantities. It is therefore impossible to make any award for loss of earnings in this case.
12. In the circumstances, the claim which has been established in this case is limited to the medical expenses for which receipts were supplied.
13. The applicant is awarded €88 under the Scheme as compensation for the injuries he sustained as a result of a crime of violence on [ ].
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
5 September 2022