Foilsiú
50084 (15 June 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: 50084
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision outcome: No compensation payable in application of Paragraph 10 of 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 on [ ], the applicant stated that he had suffered injuries on [ ] while awaiting a lift to work [ ]. The applicant states that he was set upon and beaten by members of a named family brandishing [ ] and a [ ] who caused him injuries which required inpatient treatment at [ ] Hospital, [ ] with outpatient treatment following.
3. The applicant’s main claim was for loss of earnings during his recovery from the injuries he sustained. Those loss of earnings were indicated to be ‘ongoing’ on the application form, which indicated that a medical report would also be furnished.
The applicant’s claim is that he suffered injuries as a result of an attack, which generally brings him into the remit of the Scheme. The attack was reported to the gardai on the following day, the [ ]. The Gardai furnished a report confirming the nature of the attack and the injuries sustained. The application was submitted within the 3-month time frame established by the Scheme. The criteria of paragraphs 3, 19 and 20 of the Scheme have therefore been fulfilled.
5. 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.
6. However compensation is payable under the Scheme where reasonable assistance is given to the Tribunal to assess the claim. Paragraph 10 of the Scheme reads:
“No compensation will be payable to an applicant who has not, in the opinion of the Tribunal, given the Tribunal all reasonable assistance, in relation to any medical report that it may require, and otherwise.”
The rationale of this ‘reasonable assistance’ rule appears to be that the Tribunal needs information upon which it can make its decision as to the appropriate amount of compensation to award. That information must come either directly or indirectly from the applicant.
7. On [ ] the Tribunal Secretariat wrote to the applicant’s solicitor acknowledging his application and requesting further detail and evidence of loss of earnings when the applicant’s injuries had settled. No response to that letter is on file. It is noted that no revenue records were furnished, nor was the medical report alluded to on the application form on the file received by the Tribunal Member for decision.
8. On a letter dated [ ] (but which may have been [ ]) the Tribunal Secretariat sent the applicant’s solicitor a letter requesting the information sought in the letter of [ ] and any vouching documents for out of pocket expenses arising from the applicant’s injuries. The Tribunal Secretariat requested that this information be supplied to it on or before [ ].
9. On [ ] the Tribunal Secretariat wrote directly to the applicant enclosing the correspondence sent to his solicitor under cover of letter dated [ ]. It stated that no response had been received to this letter. It asked the applicant to confirm on or before [ ] whether he wished to pursue his application. No response from the applicant has been received.
10. In this case while it appears that the applicant suffered injuries, there is no way for the Tribunal to assess what loss the applicant may have suffered in the absence of any detail as to the duration the applicant’s absence from, and any employers or revenue record of his loss of earnings for that period. No receipts have been furnished for any treatment received by the applicant. No medical report has been furnished by which the link to the injuries to his absence from employment.
11. In the circumstances the applicant has not given the Tribunal the reasonable assistance it requires to assess his application for compensation. As a consequence, and in application of paragraph 10 of the Scheme, no award of compensation can be made to him.
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
15 June 2022