At McMahon Goldrick Solicitors, we have many years of experience dealing with Criminal Injuries* Compensation Claims. This includes bringing cases for criminal assault compensation before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal.
We have assisted clients who have sustained brain injuries, spinal injuries, limb amputation and severe burn injuries. These injuries have arose from arson attacks in their applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal.
The Criminal Injuries* Compensation Tribunal (CICT) is a state body that was set up to provide compensation to injured victims of violent assaults.
The injured victim can make an application to the Tribunal to receive compensation. Typically, when a victim has sustained serious injuries it is advisable to engage the services of a solicitor. The solicitor will then make the application on their behalf.
The Tribunal will firstly assess the application. Then, it will be determined as to whether the injured victim is eligible for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted.
There is no requirement for the assailant to have been arrested or detained by the Gardaí.
The Scheme does not compensate for pain and suffering (except for prison officers who are the victims of an assault suffered in the course of their duties).
In the event of the death of a family member, the victim’s family will be paid the actual loss of earnings and expenses that may have been incurred before the death, future loss of support or maintenance for the victim’s dependents, funeral and burial expenses and mental distress money for immediate family members.
The Tribunal will consider all income the applicant received since the injury occurred (including social welfare payments, salary, and wages).
Additionally, the tribunal will take into account any compensation paid on behalf of the assailant.
Moreover, the tribunal may reduce the amount of compensation or give no compensation at all, if it decides that the injured party was wholly or partly to blame for the incident (e.g. if the injured party provoked the incident).
The incident in which the injury was caused must be reported to the Gardaí without delay.
The current time limit for making a claim to the Tribunal is within three months from the date of the incident. However, the Tribunal may exercise their discretion and extend the time limit if a reasonable explanation for the delay can be given. Though, where possible, it is preferable to apply as soon as possible following the incident as the Tribunal may refuse to make such an extension.
Read more to see the steps that are involved in bringing a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal.
Very generally, a CICT claim can take approximately 3 years to process. However, this can be dependent on the complexity of the injury itself and the nature of how it arose. Furthermore, it can depend on the Tribunal’s waitlist for hearings.