CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: Veda Rangan
Indexed as: (Re) 1701-00228
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 expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering as a result of physical assaults, that occurred on [date], 2016 where he sustained physical and psychological injuries. The incidents were reported to the Police and resulted in the Offender pleading guilty to charges of assault causing bodily harm, assault, and utter threat.
DECISION
2The CICB approves the claim for pain and suffering and awards the Applicant the sum of $6,000.00 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.
4The Applicant must provide reliable evidence to support his claims for:
a. Expenses actually and reasonably incurred as a result of his injury pursuant to subsection 7(1)(a) of the Act.
HEARING
5The hearing was conducted in writing on the basis of the materials contained in the Applicant’s file.
Documentary Evidence
6The CICB received the following documents with respect to the claim:
a. Police Report dated [date], 2017,
b. [Name] General Hospital records dated [date], 2017,
c. Medical Report from his Family Physician, Dr. [Name] dated [date] 2017,
d. Report from Dr. [Name], ENT specialist dated [date], 2017
e. Victim Impact Statement
Police Report
7The Offender, the Applicant, and the children were in the lobby running around and making noise. Irritated by the noise level, the Offender used obscene language to quieten them. The Applicant, who was offended by the profanity, told the Offender to not use such language in front of the children.
8The Applicant was leaning on the glass window at the front door of the lobby and the Offender approached him, grabbed him by the jacket and pushed him into the glass window. When he was pushed on to the floor, the Applicant was unable to get the Offender’s arms off and was unable to get out of the Offender’s grip. The Offender punched the Applicant on the head and face 4 to 5 times and then walked out.
9On [date], 2015 the Offender turned himself in to [Police] at which time he was arrested, and charged accordingly.
10Nature of injuries from the Police Synopsis: he was treated at [Name] General Hospital for broken nose, bruising below right eye, bruising above left eye, cut to inside of mouth, and he suffered a concussion.
Report from [Name] General Hospital
11The Report notes swelling on the face above the right eye and below left eye. The nose bridge was noted to be unstable and the bleeding was controlled on arrival at the ER. He was given pain medications and was treated with external medications for the multiple bruising and hematomas on the face.
Report from Dr. [Name]
12The Doctor notes that the Applicant had sustained a nasal fracture and suffered from post-concussion headaches. It is the Doctor’s view that the Applicant might require future surgery for the nose as he continues to suffer from chronic nasal congestion. The Applicant was later operated by Dr. [Name] and was reported to recovering well after surgery.
Victim Impact Statement
13The Applicant states that he has been experiencing a flood of emotions since the assault and fears constantly for the safety of his family. He continues to have headaches, has trouble breathing, and has vertigo and post-concussion symptoms. The assault had impacted his family and made him feel guilty for not being to protect his family from the emotional trauma. The Offender had previously assaulted his wife’s family and was charged and convicted.
ANALYSIS AND DECISION
14For the following reasons the CICB grants the Application.
15Based upon the evidence provided and the Offender’s conviction in respect to the incident, the CICB is persuaded that the Applicant was a victim of assault which caused him to suffer physical injury including multiple bruising, lacerations, swelling of face and nasal fracture requiring surgical intervention and the residual physical impact he continues to experience.
16He was also emotionally impacted and this had impacted on his family members who witnessed this assault. As a result, the CICB concludes that the Applicant is a victim within the meaning of s.5 (a) of the Act in connection with the assault.
17In assessing pain and suffering the CICB has considered the nature of the assault, the painful physical injuries sustained including the nasal fracture requiring surgical intervention and the emotional impact of the same on him. In consideration of his victimization the CICB awards him $6,000.00 for pain and suffering.
Expenses
18The CICB generally requires original receipts and other supporting documentation for any expenses that are claimed, both to verify the amount claimed and to confirm that such costs were not covered by other sources, such as private insurance. In the absence of such evidence, and having found no compelling reason to deviate from its usual practice in this instance, the CICB denies the expense claims for ambulance fee.
AWARD
19The CICB orders payment as follows:
Subsection 7(1)(d) Pain and Suffering $6,000.00
TOTAL AWARD $6,000.00
PAYMENT
20THE CICB ORDERS that the following sums be paid forthwith to:
The Applicant $6,000.00
DATED at Toronto this 21st day of October, 2017.
Veda Rangan, Member