CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: Veda Rangan
Indexed as: (Re) 1608-04360
ORDER
INTRODUCTION
1The Applicant is seeking financial compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) in accordance with the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, RSO 1990, c. C.24, as amended (the “Act”). The Applicant is seeking pain and suffering as a result of physical assault that occurred on [date], 2015 where he sustained physical/psychological injuries. The incident was reported to the Police and resulted in a conviction on charges of assault with a weapon.
DECISION
2The CICB approves the claim for pain and suffering and awards the Applicant the sum of $4,000.00 for the reasons set out below.
ISSUES
3A conviction may be taken as conclusive evidence that an offence has been committed pursuant to section 11 of the Act. Given that there was a conviction in this case, the Applicant is required to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that his injuries are the result of the crime pursuant to subsection 5(a) of the Act.
HEARING
4The hearing was conducted in writing on the basis of the materials contained in the Applicant’s file.
Documentary Evidence
5The CICB received the following documents with respect to the claim: Police Report dated [date], 2017, Hospital Records from [Name] Hospital.
Police Reports
6On [date] 2014, the Police attended the house of the Applicant and found him on the floor with his head off to the side in a pool of blood and unconscious. An ambulance was summoned and the Applicant was taken to the Hospital. The Applicant told the Police that he was not assaulted by his partner but that it was another person. He refused to provide any further information about the assault including a victim impact statement and a video statement. The Police were unable to complete the appropriate paper work. The Officer made several attempts since receiving the court assignment to reach the Applicant and had negative results. The Officer concluded that the Applicant did not want to pursue the complaint.
7While at the scene of the assault the Police noticed a large laceration under the Applicant’s left eye requiring stitches and a great deal of swelling to the left side of his face.
8The Police Report notes that the Offender was charged with assault with a weapon and was convicted and sentenced on [date] to a conditional sentence and was ordered probation for 12 months.
Hospital Report
9The Report states that the Applicant was assaulted by his partner and had suffered some blows to his face. He had sustained infra-orbital nerve distribution and experienced a bit of numbness. The x-rays did not show any bone injuries. The Applicant had indicated to the doctor that he has several upper teeth that are crooked but he had acquired a few others as a result of the assault. He was referred to see Dr. [Name] for assessment.
Facts of the Claim from the Narrative on File
10On reaching home on the day in question, the Applicant found his partner drunk and there were other people in the home. Someone had let the dog out and it was taken by a dog catcher. He told his partner that they have to watch their expenses since they need to have money to pay the dog catcher to retrieve their dog. Annoyed by this statement, the Offender hit the Applicant’s face twice with a bong while another person held his face. He fell down unconscious and found himself covered in blood when the Police came to help him.
Injuries as Stated in the Narrative
11The Applicant states that he was in the Hospital for 2 days on suspicion of concussion. He had sustained cuts across his face, across his nose and under his left eye. He experiences numbness on the left side of his face. In addition he has intermittent sharp pain in the forehead and has headaches also. He feels sleepy all the time and is even afraid to go out as often as he used to.
12The Applicant was fired from his job due to frequent absences because of his hospital stay, recovery time and court attendance.
ANALYSIS AND DECISION
13For the following reasons the CICB grants the Application.
14Based upon a thorough review of all the documentation provided, including the confirmation of the Offender’s conviction for assault with a weapon, the CICB is persuaded that the Offender assaulted the Applicant twice on the same day with a bottle of bong, as a result of which the Applicant suffered varied physical injuries as listed above. The incident had also impacted the Applicant emotionally and resulted in job loss. As a result, the CICB concludes that the Applicant is a victim of crimes of violence under s.5(a) of the Act.
15In arriving at its award for pain and suffering, the CICB has considered: the nature of the incident, the physical injuries sustained requiring medical intervention and the emotional impact of the same on him. In consideration of his victimization the CICB awards him $4,000.00 for pain and suffering.
AWARD
16The CICB orders payment as follows:
Subsection 7(1)(d) Pain and Suffering $4,000.00
TOTAL AWARD $4,000.00
Payment
17THE CICB ORDERS that the following sums be paid forthwith to:
The Applicant $4,000.00
DATED at Toronto this 2nd day of June, 2017
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Veda Rangan, Member