CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicators: Christie Jefferson, Guy Savoie
Indexed as: (Re) 1303-91795
SECTION 10 REVIEW ORDER
1The Applicant has requested a review of the section 25 periodic review Order issued February 28, 2018 in accordance with section 10(1) of the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, RSO 1990 c.24, as amended (CVCA).
2The relevant portions of section 10 read as follows:
10 (1) Where an application is heard by a single member of the Board under section 9, the Applicant or the Minister may, within fifteen days after service of the decision of the member, require a hearing and review by the Board and the Board shall fix a time and place for the hearing and shall at least ten days before the day fixed cause notice thereof to be served upon the parties to the proceeding.
(3) The hearing shall be conducted and the jurisdiction of the Board shall be exercised by at least two members of the Board and the member whose decision is being reviewed shall not sit on the review.
(4) After a hearing and review by the Board under this section, the Board shall make its order in accordance with this Act and its order supersedes the order of a single member made under section 9 that is the subject of the hearing and review.
3Rule 19.2 of CICB’s Rules of Procedure states:
An applicant may request a review of the decision of a single member on the grounds that the decision contains a serious error of law or an unreasonable exercise of discretion.
Issue
4On April 23, 2018, the Applicant requested a review in writing of the February 28, 2018 section 25 periodic review Order made by a single member. She indicated her request for a review was late in that she was not informed of the initial decision in a timely way. She reports receiving a letter from the CICB at the beginning of March, 2018 indicating the $1,000.00 per month periodic payment was continuing. She noted the year on that letter was 2017 but assumed this was in error and that it should have read 2018. She phoned the CICB but did not receive a call back. When the $1,000.00 periodic payment was not deposited at the end of that month, she called the CICB again and heard on April 10, 2018 that her award had been reduced to $400.00 per month. The Applicant then received the February 23, 2018 decision.
5In the request for review the Applicant submits that not all her medical expenses provided were accounted for in the section 25 Order and there are additional expenses and loss of income during the period that should be taken into consideration.
6This Panel must decide whether the Applicant's concerns amount to a serious error of law or an unreasonable exercise of discretion.
Decision
Medical Expenses
7At the written annual section 25 periodic review on February 28, 2018, a single member of the CICB found that the periodic payment of $1,000.00 per month should be reduced to $400.00 based the updated medical invoices and receipts provided by the Applicant. The member provided a very detailed accounting including the date the expenses were incurred, the treatment provider and amount of each receipt totaling $3,707.26 per year.
8The Panel has reviewed the medical invoices and receipts provided by the Applicant for the February 2018 periodic review and notes only one receipt submitted was not taken into account in the section 25 Order: the July 7, 2016 receipt for $500.00 from the Foot and Ankle Clinic. However, the Panel finds that even if this amount was added into the total amount of the Applicant’s expenses, it would have no effect on the periodic adjustment as the Applicant’s receipt total is still below $400.00 per month, the new amount of the periodic payments.
9In this request for review the Applicant provided a chart outlining her medical expenses incurred in 2016 totaling $6,810.88. However the Applicant did not provide any receipts or invoices for the additional medical expenses not already considered in the section 25 periodic review issued on February 28, 2018. While the chart may total $6,810.88, the Applicant’s receipts did not.
10The CICB generally requires receipts and/or other supporting documentation for any expenses that are claimed, both to verify the amounts claimed and to confirm that such costs were not covered by other sources, such as private insurance.
11In the absence of receipts or invoices to substantiate the additional expenses, the panel finds that there is no serious error in law or an unreasonable exercise of discretion in the February 2018 decision. All of the receipts and invoices provided by the Applicant were considered by the original member. She received compensation for all the treatments substantiated by a receipt.
Loss of Income
12In the request for review the Applicant submits that she required back surgery in [month] 2016. As a result of the surgery, the Applicant had to return to Ontario so her family could support her recovery as she could not work then and she suffered a loss of more than almost half her income in 2016. The Applicant understood that her periodic award was not just for medical expenses but also for loss of income. The Applicant provided T4 slips in support of this loss for this s.10 Review.
13The Panel has reviewed all previous section 25 and section 10 Orders of the CICB with regard to her claim, and all indicate the periodic awards were to cover uninsured medical and treatment costs. Even if the CICB were to consider loss of income for 2016, the Applicant was already awarded the maximum of $1,000.00 per month in periodic awards allowed under the CVCA for the 2016/2017 year. Therefore, no further award could be made.
14The Panel, therefore, has determined that there was no error in law or unreasonable exercise in discretion with respect to the CICB’s Order reducing the monthly periodic payment to $400.00 per month.
15Given that the Applicant was not informed in advance of the reduction in her periodic payments from $1,000.00 per month to $400.00 per month until April 10, 2018, the CICB grants the review for the sole purpose of awarding $600.00 per month for April and May of 2018 in addition to the $400.00 per month already awarded. The total additional funding would be $1,200.00. The CICB is otherwise upholding the Decision to award $400.00 per month going forward up to the next annual review for the reasons provided.
Award
16The CICB now orders payment as follows:
Section 7 (1) (a) Expenses (retroactive periodic) $1,200.00
TOTAL AWARD $1,200.00
Payment
17The following will be paid immediately to:
The Applicant $1,200.00
DATED at Toronto this 6th day of September, 2018.
Christie Jefferson, Vice Chair
Guy Savoie, Vice Chair