CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: Kabir Ravindra
Indexed as: (Re) 1610-00083
ORDER
Introduction
1You are now [age] years of age. This claim arises out of an altercation with a tenant, the Offender, at your residence on [Name] Drive in [City]. He assaulted you with a baseball bat. He also threatened you and made racial and homophobic slurs. You suffered physical and psychological injuries, and you seek compensation for your pain and suffering.
2The Offender was charged with assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon as against you. He was convicted of assault causing bodily harm, and sentenced accordingly.
Decision
3For the reasons set out below, the CICB approves the claim and awards $8,000.00 for pain and suffering, and leaves the door open for you to access funding for future physiotherapy and counselling.
Issues
4Since there was a conviction, the CICB is already aware that you were a victim of a crime of violence. The main issue is to consider the impact this incident had on you. Another issue will be to consider past and future treatment costs.
Analysis
5It is indicated in the Application, Police Report and Therapy Report that you and your wife had decided to live apart within the same house. The plan was to evict a long term tenant and one of you would move into that unit so that you could continue to parent your child together while living independently from each other. The Offender had previously made ethnic slurs and been violent. You had installed cameras in case he vandalized the property. On the date in issue, he assaulted you with a baseball bat and also caused you to fall down several stairs. He used ethnic and homophobic slurs. Your wife intervened but was unable to stop the assault.
6You were taken to [Name] Hospital for emergency treatment. You were discharged three days later. A summary of your clinical course in Hospital is contained in the medical report:
While in the hospital [the Applicant] was treated by the Trauma team. The laceration above his eye was cleaned and sutured. His injuries were assessed with physical exam and imaging. His pain was treated while this assessment was completed. A head to toe assessment of [the Applicant] was done in order to assess the extent of his injuries and source of his pain. He was found to have soft tissue injuries causing tenderness on his right side and his left shoulder, lacerations above his eye and on his right calf, a hematoma surrounding his right eye, swelling of the 2-4 MCPs on his right hand on his right ankle and pain in his lower back with left hip flexion and external rotation. No neurological deficits were found. [The Applicant] had reduced power and movement in his right hand and ankle secondary to pain. CT scan of his head and complete spine and thorax, abdomen and pelvis were completed. Chest, pelvis, right hand and right knee and ankle x-rays were ordered. A transverse process fracture was seen at L4 and a right hand 5th metacarpal fracture.
Physiotherapy and occupational therapy teams assisted with [the Applicant’s] mobility and determined he was ambulating independently. At the time of discharge from hospital, he was ambulatory and pain well controlled.
7In light of the conviction, and noting the details of the incident in the Police Report and the confirmation of your injuries in the Medical Records, the CICB finds that you were a victim of a crime of violence, as set out in section 5(a) of the Act.
8The CICB does its utmost to ensure consistency of its decisions, regardless of which CICB member considers the claim, or if it is heard by one or two CICB members. In light of what took place and how it has impacted you, the CICB finds it would be consistent and within its mandate to award $8,000.00 towards your pain and suffering.
9You had claimed certain expenses with your Application, including the ambulance and prescription medications. The CICB cannot reimburse these costs in the absence of receipts.
10It is unclear from the file materials if your physical injuries have stabilized or if further physiotherapy is required. In the event that you require additional physiotherapy as a direct result of this crime, and the cost is not covered by other sources such as workplace benefits or insurance, section 25 of the Act permits the CICB to consider varying this Order to include payment for the additional physiotherapy expenses. Similarly, you have not claimed for counselling expenses but the CICB is aware that this sort of violent assault can be traumatizing, and that could be reduced with talk therapy. If you are considering seeking a variation of this Order to include the cost of additional physiotherapy and/or counselling, kindly contact the CICB for more information, because prior authorization is required.
Award
11The CICB orders payment as follows:
Section 7(1)(d) Pain and Suffering $8,000.00
TOTAL AWARD $8,000.00
12The CICB recognizes that no amount of money can adequately compensate victims for the injustice they have suffered but also finds the amount of the award to be reasonable within the context of the Act.
Payment
13THE CICB ORDERS that the following sums be paid forthwith to:
The Applicant $8,000.00
DATED at Toronto, this 4th day of May, 2017.
Kabir Ravindra, Member