CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: Jo-Anne Hughes
Indexed as: (Re) 1608-04391
ORDER
Introduction
1In this case, the Applicant claimed that he was assaulted by a group of people outside of a [City] pool hall including being pepper sprayed and stabbed.
2In this case, the CICB is required to determine whether a crime of violence has occurred as per section 5(a) of 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 his March, 2016 submission to the CICB, the Applicant wrote that on the night of the incident, he went to play pool with some friends. At the entrance to the pool hall, a group of men approached, the Alleged Offender sprayed the Applicant and his friends with bear spray and then the Applicant was stabbed by the Alleged Offender.
Police Report
4The CICB received a report from the [Name] Police Service in support of the Applicant’s claim. Police confirmed the incident as described above by the Applicant. Police noted that during this incident, the Alleged Offender tried to stab one person and then the Applicant was stabbed and taken to [Name] Hospital. Police noted that the Applicant’s prognosis was that he had internal bleeding as a result of being stabbed and that without surgery he would have bled to death.
5As a result of their investigation, police charged the Alleged Offender with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a dangerous weapon, five counts of assault, assault with a weapon, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit an indictable offense. Police reported that this matter is still before the courts.
6In December 2016, the CICB received a note from the [Name] Police Service about this incident. At that point, Police did not know why the Applicant and his friends were attacked by the men outside the bar. Video evidence showed that the Applicant and his friends arrived in two vehicles, hung around the outside of the bar for a while and it was clear from the video that the Applicant and his friends were not looking for a fight. Then, the Alleged Offender took out a large can of ‘bear spray’ and sprayed everyone and started chasing people. Police noted that all but one of the accused persons pled guilty in this case. The remaining accused, the Alleged Offender, is waiting for his trial.
7As a result of their investigation, Police charged the Alleged Offender with eight counts of assault against the Applicant and his seven friends. On [date], 2016, he pled guilty to one of the assault charges and the others were withdrawn at the request of the Crown. He received a conditional discharge plus twelve months of probation.
Injuries
8The Applicant wrote that after he was attacked, an ambulance took him to [Name] Hospital. He received surgery for the stab to his abdomen and he was discharged in a few days. He moved back to [outside Ontario] to be with his family and another four months later, he had to get another surgical procedure due to a twisted intestine. Then, he spent another two months in the Hospital.
9The Applicant wrote that this whole experience has been awful and it has affected how he thinks about things. Sometimes he feels like giving up. Doctors advised him that the more abdominal surgeries he has, the more that adhesions build-up and then more surgeries may be required. The Applicant was feeling depressed and he isolated himself from his friends. All told, he was unable to work for about eight months. The Applicant lost his ability to pay his credit card and now he is in debt without any savings.
Medical Reports
10The CICB received several reports from [Name] Hospital which provided urgent care and emergency surgery to the Applicant. An ambulance report noted that the Applicant said that before he went into the bar, the Applicant smoked a cigarette and he was approached by a man who asked him for money. The Applicant replied that he didn’t have any money and another man started punching him and then the Applicant was pepper-sprayed by someone. The Applicant went into the bar and when he was inside, he then realized that he had been stabbed. EMS also said they had a delay getting to the Applicant as he was located by Police inside the bar. The Applicant reported that the pepper spray caused burning to his eyes so he asked EMS to help remove his contact lenses. The Applicant’s hands were covered in blood and EMS found a one inch oval puncture wound just to the left of the Applicant’s navel.
11Doctors found “massive bleeding” with “hemodynamic instability from intra-abdominal bleeding”. Doctors noted “stomach injury, mesenteric injury to transverse colon, small bowel mesenteric injury, inferior epigastric injury on left, small bowel injury, gastroepiploic artery injury, traumatic abdominal wall disruption, loss of gradient 40% blood volume”. The Applicant was released from Hospital four days later with four medications and instructions to return in two weeks to get his abdominal incision staples removed.
12The CICB also received several reports from the [Name] Hospital [outside Ontario]. In the [date] 2015, the Applicant presented with severe abdominal pain with nausea, vomiting, and no diarrhea. He was not passing gas and he was unable to eat or drink anything. Doctors noted that the Applicant had a “small bowel obstruction and was admitted to surgery for conservative management.” He began passing gas after several days and he was discharged in good health. Overall, the Applicant was in Hospital for seven days – between [dates], 2015.
13The next day, the Applicant was re-admitted to the Hospital with a “reoccurrence of his small bowel obstruction” in the lower left quadrant of his abdomen (previously noted as the location of his stab wound). After significant abdominal surgery (which involved unpacking his small bowel, finding the obstruction, repairing it and re-packing his small bowel) he was kept in the Hospital until [date], 2015.
Expenses
14The Applicant claimed he was unable to work from [date] to [date], 2015 and as a result, he lost $4,500.00.
15In an April 19, 2017 letter, the CICB asked the Applicant to provide a report from his Employer [Name] to support his wage loss claim. As of the date of this hearing, this Report has not been received by the CICB.
Analysis and Decision
16The fact that there has not been a conviction 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.
17The CICB finds the Applicant, on a balance of probabilities, to be a victim of a crime of assault with a weapon, and therefore, a victim within the meaning of section 5(a) of the Act.
18In assessing compensation for pain and suffering, the CICB has considered the nature of this incident and how it affected the Applicant. In this case, the Applicant was hit in the face with pepper spray and stabbed in the abdomen with an unknown oval-shaped weapon. As a result, the Applicant’s eyes were burning from the pepper spray and he was taken to the Hospital for treatment of his stab wound. At the Hospital, the Applicant was found to have lost 40% of his blood due to internal bleeding and he endured a life-saving laparotomy to repair several internal injuries to his bowels and an artery. Four months later, the Applicant was diagnosed with a small bowel obstruction and after nearly a month in hospital, he was released in good health. On an emotional level, that this has been an awful experience for him, he has been depressed, he self-isolated and he was unable to work for eight months.
19The Applicant’s claim was supported with reports from Police, the Courts and two Hospitals. Considering this evidence and the submissions by the Applicant, the CICB assesses this award at $9,000.00.
20With respect to the Applicant’s claim for income loss, the CICB notes that it generally requires supporting documentation (i.e. employer’s report, pay stubs or Income Tax records and/or medical confirmation of disability) in order to verify an applicant’s employment status and average net earnings at the time of the incident, and to determine whether any income-replacements benefits were received during the period being claimed, and to confirm the period of disability. In the absence of any documentation to support his loss of income claim and having found no compelling reasons to deviate from its usual practice in this instance, the CICB finds that the Applicant has failed to establish his claim for income loss and the claim in that regard is hereby denied.
Award
21The CICB orders payment as follows:
Section 7(1)(d) Pain and Suffering $9,000.00
TOTAL AWARD $9,000.00
22The 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
23THE CICB ORDERS that the following sums be paid forthwith to:
The Applicant $9,000.00
DATED at Toronto this 21st day of September, 2017.
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Jo-Anne Hughes, Member