Mum of man shot dead fails in €35k compo claim from State
The tribunal did award a number of awards in excess of €1m in 2023
THE MOTHER of a man shot dead by a lone gunman from behind has failed in her application for up to €35,000 in State compensation as her son “had a long history of significant criminal activity”.
The decision by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal not to make any award was one of 80 appeal hearings held by the tribunal in 2023.
The 2023 annual report for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal shows that 270 victims of crime received awards totalling €7.5m which is a 19pc increase on the €6.2m paid out to 192 applicants in 2022.
Concerning the failed application by the mother for compensation under the scheme, the three-person tribunal said that the victim in the case, the woman's son, was shot and killed in a planned murder. The appeal tribunal stated that the incident was clearly a crime of violence resulting in fatal injury and one which can be considered under the terms of the scheme.
However, the tribunal stated that the man had a long history of significant criminal activity, being convicted of a number of offences, and had served a lengthy custodial sentence.
The tribunal states that given the criminal history of the gun victim, it considered that “the conduct, character and way of life of the victim in this case was such that it would be inappropriate to make an award”.
In another case, the tribunal decided to make no compensation to a mother whose son died of injuries suffered in an assault.
The tribunal decided not to make any award as the assault victim had “a vast number of previous convictions”.
The tribunal concluded that “the sheer volume of them alone clearly satisfies this tribunal as a matter of probability that his character, or way of life make it inappropriate that any award should be granted in this particular application”.
The tribunal did award a number of awards in excess of €1m in 2023.
In one case, the tribunal awarded €1.45m to a man who suffered severe and life-changing injuries as a result of an unprovoked assault. The largest component of the award was €996,313 for future loss of earnings and pension contributions.
In another case, the tribunal awarded a man €1.2m after he sustained a brain injury during an assault on him. The award is mainly made up of €483,887 in loss of earnings and €691,832 is future care costs. The report in the case records that the person who carried out the assault was convicted of assault causing serious harm and jailed.