CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: M. Saleem Akhtar
Indexed as: (Re) 1606-03903
ORDER
Introduction
1This is an Application brought by the Applicant seeking compensation for injuries arising from the commission of an alleged crime of violence in accordance with the Compensation for Applicants of Crime Act, RSO 1990, c. C.24, as amended (the “Act”). An assault is alleged to have been committed against the Applicant by the Alleged Offender on [date], 2015 in the Province of Ontario.
Decision
2The CICB approves the Applicant’s claim with respect to an assault committed against her on [date], 2015 by the Alleged Offender and awards her the sum of $2,000.00 as compensation for pain and suffering.
Evidence
3In her Application before the CICB, the Applicant described the incident under the heading “Details of the Crime” as follows:
On Wednesday, January 7, 2015, I was…collecting the lunchtime meal trays from each cell…the inmate in cell # 3 C.E. (Alleged Offender) wanted more hot water in his cup. At this time, I told him no, that we only fill hot water at the beginning of meal issue. I told this inmate to take his cup off of the hatch so that I could close it. At this time, the inmate became very agitated and looked on his floor and picked up a crumpled up newspaper and threw it out of the hatch at me. I moved back out of the way and saw him taking his cup off of his hatch, put it into his toilet and threw it out of his hatch at me. The contents of the cup went all over my face, torso and legs. There are a lot of unknowns in respect to what fluids were in the cup that was thrown directly onto my face and whether this inmate has any transmittable diseases.”
4In her Application, the Applicant described her injuries under the heading “Details of Injuries” as follows:
On [date], 2015, I did attend [Name] District Hospital for being exposed to bodily fluids. The following day, I did see my family physician for my emotional state due to what had occurred the previous day. I was very shaken up, kept reliving the events of the day before and would start crying out of nowhere. Later that week, I returned to [Name] District Hospital to have my blood drawn to complete the baseline testing so that I was able to move forward with the Mandatory Blood Testing Act. I had to drive the completed package to Oakville by 5 pm within a 7-day period in order to comply with the Mandatory Blood Testing Act.
During this time, I was receiving phone call from [Name] Regional Police Service in regards to them charging this inmate with assault… (Later), the officer stated he was very willing to go through with this charge but that it would only be thrown out anyways because the United States really wanted this inmate.
This inmate declined to volunteer his blood sample for analysis when requested by public health…Dealing with the blood testing and reliving the actual assault created a lot of stress and anxiety for me. I was in contact with two social workers through our Employee Assistance Program. This did not prove to be enough help for me. I was referred to a psychologist…I have been seeing this psychologist since [date], 2015…This incident is affecting my quality of life as well as affecting my marriage. I have restless nights, loss of sleep, relive the assault in slow motion, break down crying, increased sense of my surroundings, and quick to anger with my husband for the smallest things. I am beginning to really stress about my loss of ability to work overtime as well…
5The Applicant has not identified or claimed any physical injuries accruing from the alleged assault. In support of her emotional injuries claim, she has submitted Reports from the Hospital [Name], her Family Physician and her Therapist. These Reports describe her emotional injuries as intrusive thoughts/memories, difficulty sleeping, irritability, emotional liability, anxiety in general and fearfulness. She attended 14 counselling sessions. Her Therapist writes “she does