CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: Anne-Marie Langan
Indexed as: (Re) 1703-00980
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 compensation for pain and suffering and reimbursement of medical expenses he incurred as a result of an assault by the Offender that occurred on [date], 2015 when he sustained physical and psychological injuries. The incidents were reported to the Police and resulted in the Offender being charged with assault with a weapon and convicted of a lesser included charge of assault. The Offender was sentenced to 12 months of probation.
DECISION
2The CICB approves the claim and awards the Applicant the sum of $5,045.00 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.
4In addition, the Applicant must provide reliable evidence to support his claims for 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
6In his Application the Applicant describes how he was out socializing at a pub with a few of his friends when the Offender approached one of the females in his group and made unwanted sexual advances towards her. The Applicant asked him to leave his friend alone. The Offender left but returned a short while later and recommenced his unwanted advances. When the Applicant saw the Offender in the bathroom later that evening he once again asked the Offender to leave his friend alone. The Offender punched the Applicant in the face and knocked him unconscious.
7When the Applicant awoke, the paramedics were there and took the applicant to the Hospital to be treated for a head injury (concussion). The Applicant had 9 stitches in his forehead and a significant "gouge" which could not be stitched. The Applicant missed two weeks of work following the incident.
8With respect to his emotional injuries, the Applicant describes that he was embarrassed by the incident as the word about what happened spread amongst his fellow Police Officers and was frequently mentioned at work. The Applicant used his vacation time to convalesce after the incident and feels that he lost this valuable time off.
9The Police Report mentions that following the incident the police witnessed a friend of the Offender throwing brass knuckles under a car. The Offender admitted that they were his and the Police surmise that they were used during the assault. The Police Report describes that the Applicant had eight to ten stitches to a vertical cut at the top of his forehead/scalp area. There was also an inch laceration in middle of the Applicant's forehead, a small laceration to the bridge of his nose, redness to his right eye and a swollen left lower cheek/jaw. The applicant reported to the Police that he suffered headaches for approximately 2 weeks following the incident.
10The Hospital Report from the [Name] Hospital confirms that the Applicant went there on [date], 2015, the night of the incident, by ambulance, to be treated for his injuries. The injuries described are as described in the Application and Police Report. There is an invoice for $45.00 for the cost of the ambulance.
ANALYSIS AND DECISION
11The fact that the Offender was convicted for assault against the Applicant is conclusive evidence that the Applicant is the victim of a violent crime. The Applicant's physical injuries are confirmed in the police report and hospital report and included lacerations to his face requiring stitches, a swollen jaw, redness under his eye and headaches. The Applicant did not provide a Therapy Report to confirm his emotional injuries but the CICB accepts the Applicant's evidence that he was embarrassed by this incident, particularly as it was talked about for some time afterwards by his co-workers.
12Based on its assessment of the Applicant's injuries the CICB awards the Applicant $5,000.00 in damages for pain and suffering.
13The CICB considered the Applicant's claim in respect to the ambulance cost, for which an invoice was provided. The CICB finds such costs to be both reasonable and within the context of the Act and will therefore award $45.00 for such costs.
AWARD
14The CICB orders payment as follows:
Subsection 7(1) (a) Expenses $ 45.00
Subsection 7(1) (d) Pain and Suffering $5,000.00
TOTAL AWARD (AND COSTS) $5,045.00
PAYMENT
15THE CICB ORDERS that the following sums be paid forthwith to:
The Applicant $5,045.00
DATED at Toronto this 13^th^ day of December, 2017.
Anne-Marie Langan, Member