(Re) 1710-03201, 2019 ONCICB 68

CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD

Adjudicator: M. Saleem Akhtar
Date: April 16, 2019
Indexed as: (Re) 1710-03201

DECISION

Introduction

1The Applicant applied to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) seeking compensation for injuries resulting from a crime of violence. The Applicant is seeking the following forms of compensation: pain and suffering and incident-related expenses.

Decision

2In accordance with the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, RSO 1990, c.C24, as amended (CVCA), the CICB grants the Application and awards the Applicant pain and suffering compensation in the amount of $8,000.00. The reasons for this Decision follow below.

Hearing

3The Applicant appeared by teleconference and provided oral testimony. In addition, the CICB considered written materials including a police report, the Applicant’s written submissions and treatment / assessment reports from his Family Physician and his Dentist. The CICB also considered additional documentation submitted by the Applicant in March 2019, which includes medical reports and medical notes from the Hospital.

Documentary Evidence

4In his Application to the CICB, the Applicant described that in [...], he was physically assaulted, stabbed and robbed by two Alleged Offenders while he was working at his store. The Alleged Offenders beat him in the face, hit on his head and stabbed him multiple times in the leg and belly areas. The Alleged Offenders demanded money. The Applicant complied with the Alleged Offender’s demand, gave them the money and they fled the scene after this. The Applicant’s co-worker notified the police regarding the robbery and the assault. The Police and the Paramedics arrived at the scene. The Applicant was transported to the Hospital for treatment of his injuries. The Alleged Offenders have not been identified and apprehended yet.

5The Police report, on file, corroborates the Applicant’s version of the incident. The report adds the Applicant “sustained several stab wounds to his upper leg and facial injuries including a possible broken nose”. The Alleged Offenders also emptied the money from the till (estimated $300.00 - $1,000.00). No video-surveillance was available to help the investigation.

6In his Application to the CICB, the Applicant described his physical injuries: broken nose and jaw dislocation, head injury causing vertigo, stab wounds to the abdomen and left leg, which became permanently impaired. Mental health diagnosis: PTSD, Anxiety and Depression. He further claimed that he had developed memory issues, maybe due to PTSD or head injury or a combination of the two. He had to have Cataract surgery after the assault.

7In support of his injuries’ claim, the Applicant submitted treatment / assessment reports from the Hospital, his Family Physician and his Dentist.

Oral Testimony

8In his sworn oral testimony, the Applicant testified that, on the day of the incident, at about 6 pm, he and his co-worker were at their store, which they were about to close for the day. The two Alleged Offenders showed up who were advised that the store was almost closed. Despite that, they forced their entry and demanded money. One of the Alleged Offenders attacked the Applicant and pushed him down on the ground. The other Alleged Offender opened a box-cutter knife and stabbed the Applicant multiple times on his leg and belly. He threatened to inflict more injuries if the Applicant did not meet his money demand. After receiving the money, the Alleged Offenders ran away from the back door. The Applicant’s co-worker notified the police about the assault and the robbery. The Police and the Paramedics arrived. The Applicant was transported to the Hospital for treatment.

9With regards to his physical injuries, the Applicant testified that he sustained three stab wounds, a broken nose, a fractured jaw and a hit on the head causing him vertigo. His face looked like a “hamburger”. The Applicant added that emotionally he felt depressed. He started experiencing anxiety, panic attacks and depression. He developed symptoms of PTSD. He claimed he experiences panic attacks to this day, and he has issues dealing with people. He has developed trust and memory issues. He started grinding his teeth due to the stress, anxiety and panic, which caused damage to his teeth. He is left with three residual scars from the stab wounds, which are a constant reminder of the assault and robbery. The leg wound has made his leg weaker and his leg gets easily tired.

10I asked the Applicant to describe the current condition of his belly injury. He told that the belly injury had healed relatively better.

11I asked the Applicant what his source of income has been since the incident. He responded he is in receipt of benefits from the CPP and the Long Term Disability (LTD) because of the assault.

12The Applicant expressed, given more time, he would like to furnish more treatment related documentation in support of his claim. His request was granted and he was granted time up to March 25, 2019 to submit any and all relevant documentation in support of the claim. The Applicant provided hospital reports / medical notes as additional documentation in March 2019, as referred to above, and I considered that evidence as well before rendering this Decision.

Analysis

Crime of Violence

13As already described above, the Alleged Offenders were not identified and apprehended. Hence, no charges were laid and there was no conviction in relation to this matter.

14Section 16(1) of the CVCA provides that compensation may be awarded whether or not a person has been prosecuted or convicted of the offence giving rise to the injuries.

15After considering the police report, the Applicant’s sworn testimony regarding the incident and treatment / assessment reports, I am satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that the Applicant was a victim of a crime of assault within the meaning of section 5 of the CVCA.

Injuries

16To be compensable under the CVCA, the Applicant is required, on a balance of probabilities, to prove that his injuries resulted from the crime of violence.

17I find the Applicant’s physical injuries such as stab wounds, broken jaw, shattered nose resulted from the crime of violence, as is noted in treatment / assessment reports from the Hospital and from Applicant’s Family Physician, as already referred to above. I also find that the stab wounds left behind three residual scars, which are a constant reminder of the assault and its impact. I also find the Applicant’s emotional injuries resulted from the assault and its impact, as is noted in the reports from his Family Physician.

Compensation

Pain and Suffering

18In assessing the claim for pain and suffering, the CICB considered the nature of the assault, and the nature and extent of injuries, both physical and emotional, sustained by the Applicant. The CICB also considered the on-going impact on the Applicant’s overall health, relationships and productivity. The CICB also took into account that the Applicant was assaulted and stabbed at his workplace, without any provocation on his part. The Applicant’s version of the incident and his stated injuries are duly corroborated by the reports from the police, the Hospital and his Family Physician. The CICB accepts these treatment / assessment reports and the Applicant’s testimony for the purpose of compensation in this matter. I find the Applicant’s testimony credible, reliable and compelling and without being prone to exaggeration.

19It is important to note that the CICB has wide discretion to determine whether or not to award compensation to a victim from public funds (Leung v Ontario (Criminal Injuries Compensation Board) 1995 10629 (Div Ct)). The CVCA is not intended to make a victim for compensation whole or to provide full indemnity to a victim. The CICB is mindful that awards are paid using public funds. They are not paid by the wrongdoer as would be the case if a victim pursued compensation through a civil action. The CICB also considers previous awards made by it in similar fact cases in order to determine a reasonable amount of compensation.

20After reviewing the evidence in its totality, and having regard to all of the above mentioned circumstances of this case as well as considering previous awards made by the CICB in similar fact cases, and in order to maintain consistency across the CICB, I make an award of $8,000.00 for pain and suffering.

Expenses Claim

21The Applicant must provide reliable evidence to support the claims for:

• expenses actually and reasonably incurred as a result of incident-related injury

22The Applicant's claim for out-of-pocket expenses is denied for lack of relevant documentation in support of the claim.

Award

23The CICB orders compensation as follows:

Subsection 7(1)(d) Pain and Suffering $8,000.00

Total Current Award $8,000.00

Payment

24The CICB orders the following be paid immediately to:

Applicant $8,000.00