CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: Kevin Cleghorn
Indexed as: (Re) 1704-01213
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 a pain and suffering award as a result of a physical assault that occurred on [date], 2016 where he sustained physical injuries. The incident was reported to the police and resulted in a charge of assault causing bodily harm. The Offender was convicted of assault causing bodily harm on [date], 2016.
DECISION
2The CICB approves the claim and awards the applicant the sum of $5,000.00 for his pain and suffering 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.
HEARING
4The hearing was conducted in writing on the basis of the materials contained in the Applicant’s file.
Documentary Evidence
5The CICB received the following documents with respect to the claim: General Occurrence Report from Ontario Provincial Police; Arrest Report from Ontario Provincial Police; Emergency Medical Records from [Name] District Hospital
ANALYSIS AND DECISION
6For the following reasons the CICB grants the Application.
7The Applicant owned a rental property. He rented an apartment above the garage to [Tenant]. The Offender was the boyfriend of [Tenant]. He moved into the apartment with her in [date] 2015.
8The Applicant went to the apartment on [date], 2016 to collect unpaid rent. He spoke with the Offender at the door who informed him it was [Tenant]’s issue, not his. The Applicant left the premises. The Offender, however, followed him and knocked him to the ground from behind. The Applicant was then picked up by the Offender multiple times and thrown to the ground. The Offender then went back into the apartment, leaving the Applicant lying on the ground.
9The Applicant experienced a broken right wrist. He had a cast applied to it and the cast remained on for approximately one month.
10The information contained in the Police Records confirms that the Applicant co-operated with the Police in the investigation of this matter. There is no suggestion that the Applicant did or said anything to provoke the attack nor that he did anything to contribute to his injuries. The Offender was convicted of assault causing bodily harm on [date], 2016.
11I accept the Applicant’s version of the events as set out in his Application because all of the information provided is corroborated by the Police information and the Hospital records. The attack, as mentioned previously, was wholly unprovoked by the Applicant according to the Applicant and the documentation provided.
12CICB finds the Applicant to be a victim within the meaning of subsection 5(a) of the Act as a result of the act of physical assault perpetrated by the Offender. I accept the Applicant’s description of the nature of his injuries. The extent of the injuries and cause of the injuries as outlined in the Application are consistent with the Hospital records. He states that he had a fractured wrist and continues to have ongoing stiffness and pain in his wrist and shoulder. The Applicant claims that he has had to sell his rural property due to an inability to maintain it as a consequence of his wrist injury. He reports considerable pain and discomfort in his wrist, so much so that it causes him to weep at the end of the day.
13The CICB has considered the following factors in coming to its decision on the amount of the pain and suffering award:
The criminal actions of the Offender caused the injuries sustained;
The nature and extent of the injuries to the Applicant, which include the fracture to his wrist, pain in his shoulder and pain and discomfort continuing to this day;
The injuries have interfered with the Applicant’s daily activities to the extent that he could not maintain his own property or do his regular chores;
The Applicant is elderly and this has had a profound effect on his life and lifestyle; and,
The award is made from public funds.
AWARD
14The CICB orders payment as follows:
Subsection 7(1)(d) Pain and Suffering $5,000.00
TOTAL AWARD (AND COSTS) $5,000.00
PAYMENT
15THE CICB ORDERS that the following sums be paid forthwith to:
The Applicant $5,000.00
DATED at Toronto this 18th day of December, 2017.
Kevin Cleghorn, Member