(Re) 1510-01135, 2017 ONCICB 252

CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD

Adjudicators: Jo-Anne Hughes, James Graham

Date: September 15, 2017

Indexed as: (Re) 1510-01135

ORDER

Introduction

1The Applicant claims in this case that she was assaulted by a stranger when she was walking near [location] in [City].

2The CICB is required to determine whether a crime of violence has occurred as per section 5(a) of the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act (the “Act”), what injury, if any, arose from it, and the relevant circumstances affecting whether or not compensation should be awarded and if so, the amount.

Incident

3In her written submission with her Application to the CICB, the Applicant stated that on [date], 2015, at 4:00 p.m. a white middle-aged man assaulted her (hit her with his fist) while she was walking on [Street] near [Street]. She wrote that she reported the incident to the Police [Officer Name] and what is believed to be the corresponding occurrence number [Number], and that she reported it to [Police].

4The Applicant appeared before the CICB on July 10, 2017 and gave the following sworn testimony:

She stated that she was at the intersection of [Names] Street in Toronto, that it was lunch time and somebody bumped her. After he bumped her he said that he was sorry. She said that she hit her head. When asked by the Panel if she fell, she said “No - she remained standing”. When questioned about how she hit her head, her response was the “she didn’t remember”. She said she went to the [Division] police station. At the hearing, she was able to identify that station by looking through the hearing room window that she could see [Division] across [Name] Street. It should be noted that the sign in front of the building across from 250 Dundas, which can be seen from the hearing room says: [Name]. The Applicant said that she remembers speaking with [Officer Name] and showed him the bump on her head. After speaking with [Officer Name] she said she didn’t remember where she went.

Police Report

5In response to the CICB’s request for police information about this incident, the CICB received the following from the [Name] Police Service: no records were found, that [Officer Name] is not based out of [Division], there are no officers with the badge number [Number], and all occurrence numbers begin with the year the incident would have occurred.

Injuries

6In her submission to the CICB, the Applicant reported her injuries to be as follows: head concussion trauma, headaches, mild heart attack, ringing in the ears, loss of appetite, poor cognitive ability and Tourette’s.

7In her oral testimony, the Applicant stated that her injuries consisted of a bump on her head, she gets headaches and she has a pinched nerve. She also testified that since the incident, she has had nightmares, that she always feels sick, she has chest pains, ringing in her ears, concussion and red spot on her eyes. She doesn’t have a family doctor and says that she attended a “Walk in Clinic“, but cannot remember when. The Applicant also said that she has blurry vision all the time. She also told the Panel that she has been an inpatient of the [Hospital] since [date], 2015.

Medical Reports

8The CICB did not receive any hospital or medical reports to support the Applicant’s claim. The CICB is in receipt in a letter dated [date], 2015 that the Applicant is an inpatient with [Hospital] since [date], 2015.

9The CICB is also in receipt of a Therapy Report from [Name], a Social Worker at [Name] Hospital, which supports the Applicant's claim that while walking on [Streets] she was attacked by one person, a white male, that she was bumped in the head and fell to the ground. The Report states that the incident caused the Applicant to have muscle pains, she feels stressed and depressed. She says that this incident is the reason that she was admitted to Hospital for psychiatric reasons. This Report also states that the incident has caused the Applicant to have issues with concentration and increased anxiety. The report also says that the Applicant has a history of mental illness.

Expenses

10The Applicant submitted a claim for prescription drugs for $100.00, but was unable to provide the CICB with any receipts.

Analysis and Decision

11The fact that there has not been a conviction, in relation to a crime of violence against the Applicant is not fatal to the Applicant’s claim. Section 16(1) of the Act provides that compensation may be awarded whether or not a person has been prosecuted or convicted of the offence giving rise to the injury or death.

12In order to be compensable under s. 5(a) of the Act, the Applicant must prove on a balance of probabilities that she was injured as a result of a crime of violence. In making this determination, the CICB has considered the available evidence including her testimony, documents, and the fact that the [Name] Police Service had no information with regards to the alleged incident despite the fact the Applicant remembers reporting the incident to [Officer Name] with badge number [Number] (although he is not assigned to [Division] and [Police] has nobody on staff with badge number [Number]).

13The Applicant provided two accounts of the incident. In her written documentation, she alleges that she was punched by an unknown assailant. In her oral testimony, she testified that someone bumped into her on the street and apologized after bumping into her. Given these two diverging accounts, the CICB finds it difficult to reconcile which is accurate.

14In the former account, where she claims she was assaulted, the CICB is not satisfied on a balance of probabilities that this occurred given that the corresponding evidence regarding the Police Report does not exist. In the latter account, where she claims she was bumped into, even taking her testimony and the evidence at its highest, this would not even result in a crime of violence as there was no evidence that this was an intentional application of force and was seemingly accidental given that the Alleged Offender apologized after bumping into her.

15Moreover, while the Applicant indicated she suffered from various injuries, she was unable to provide any medical documentation to support the injuries that she suffered as a result of this incident. While the Therapy Report indicates she was “attacked”, this evidence is given little weight as it is the result of a self-reported incident without further elaboration. The CICB finds that the Applicant has not proven that she sustained injuries as a result of a crime of violence.

16Therefore, on a balance of probabilities, the CICB finds that the Applicant has not provided sufficient evidence to prove that she was a victim of a crime of violence nor any evidence that she suffered an injury. Accordingly, her Application is denied.