CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: M. Saleem Akhtar
Indexed as: (Re) 1802-00649
DECISION
INTRODUCTION
1The Applicant applied to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) seeking compensation for pain and suffering for injuries resulting from a robbery and assault that occurred on […].
DECISION
2In accordance with the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, RSO 1990, c. C24, as amended (CVCA), the CICB grants the Application. The reasons for this Decision follow below.
HEARING
3The hearing was conducted in writing on the basis of the materials contained in the Applicant’s file.
DOCUMENTARY Evidence
4Regarding details of the crime, the Applicant writes
On […]at approximately 2:00 a.m. two masked men came into the store, one of them came down the aisle I was working in and pulled a gun on me. He, then, started giving me orders. He said, “I don’t want to hurt you but I will, if I have to, do exactly as I say. Where is the pharmacist?” (I pointed to the back of the store). He held the gun to my side the whole time. He made me knee behind the counter. He, then, started yelling demands at the pharmacist. They got the drugs and then took off. They said to wait at least 3 minutes before we called police. The pharmacist was able to call the police. I walked another employee to the front of the store to lock the doors. Police were there within moments, less than 5 minutes.
5Regarding her injuries claim, the Applicant writes
I have suffered from psychological and emotional injuries since the robbery. Immediately after the incident, I was shaking, nauseous, and I had a massive headache. I barely slept for a couple of days. I kept walking with visions of these men coming into the store and then hearing their voices and demands. I saw my family doctor a couple of times that week. He prescribed Lorazepam to help me sleep and completed forms for WSIB. In September, I started Cipralex medications, 5 mgs is what he started me on. He has slowly increased me to 20 mgs…It’s like I fell into a depression…I have been seeing [Name] a Counsellor at the Recovery Centre. I tried to return to work. I worked a 4-hour shift, however, the anxiety that I felt was uncontrollable…
The trauma this has left me with has changed my whole outlook on life…This has traumatized me to the point that I try as much as possible to stay home, alone. I feel this is my safe place. I have also been suffering from nightmares…I now suffer from hypervigilance…I now rarely go out at night. This incident happened at night and so my anxiety is heightened when it is dark…I also suffer from flashbacks during the day. I can picture them walking into the store…This is…that I relive on a daily basis…I don’t know anything about guns, but that particular gun, the image is forever embedded in my mind…I fear that it is going to happen again…Even though I have been approved by WSIB, I have not been receiving the full income that I had been making at the time of the incident. This has caused financial hardship on my family. We did not anticipate something like this was going to happen. We have depleted our emergency savings.
6In support of her injuries claim, the Applicant has submitted reports from her Family Physician and Social Worker. The Family Physician writes the Applicant sustained “psychological trauma related to the armed robbery that occurred at her store on […].” The report adds that the Applicant “does have a history of previous mental health disorder but this was stable and patient was functioning normally prior to the robbery.”
7The Applicant’s Social Worker writes that the Applicant “initially struggled to leave her home because she felt unsafe. Panic attacks triggered by guns, masks…eating and sleeping dysregulation, easily startled, muscle pain / tension worse, nightmares of the robbery, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks…PTSD diagnosed…” The report adds that “she did suffer two premorbid Motor Vehicle Accidents and suffers chronic pain for which she takes medication and pain injections…”
8Police report, on record, by and large, corroborates Applicant’s version of the incident. After due investigation, police charged two males with Robbery with Firearm and Disguise with Intent. Later, both Offenders were convicted of the same charges.
ANALYSIS
Crime of Violence
9A conviction is conclusive evidence that a crime of violence occurred. As there was a conviction in this case, the Applicant is required to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that her injuries resulted from the crime of violence.
10I find the Applicant’s injuries resulted from the crime of violence, as is supported by her Family Physician and her Social Worker. I also note that she had some pre-existing health conditions, as noted by her Family Physician and her Social Worker.
Compensation
Pain and Suffering
11In assessing the claim for pain and suffering, the CICB considered the nature of the robbery and assault that happened at the Applicant’s workplace as well as the nature and extent of her injuries emanating from the assault, as claimed by her and supported by treatment / assessment reports. I have also considered that the Applicant had some pre-existing health issues such as severe pain resulting from prior two motor vehicle accidents and requiring medication as well as pre-existing mental health disorder.
12The CICB will award $5,000.00 for pain and suffering.
13Should the Applicant be awarded compensation as a result of a civil suit / action, the Applicant must notify the CICB immediately since the CICB is entitled to be reimbursed from those funds for any amount of compensation it has awarded to the Applicant pursuant to subsection 26(5.1) that states:
26 (5.1) The Board is entitled to be reimbursed, out of any amount recovered by the applicant from the offender or any other party, for the amount of compensation awarded to the applicant.
AWARD
14The CICB orders compensation as follows:
Subsection 7(1)(d) Pain and Suffering $5,000.00
TOTAL CURRENT AWARD $5,000.00
15THE CICB ORDERS the following be paid immediately to the:
Applicant $5,000.00
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 31st of January 2019.
M. Saleem Akhtar, Member