EVER heard of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board of Trinidad and Tobago (the Board)?
Chances are you haven’t, which is why the Board is often referred to as a well-kept secret.
The Board, at its simplest, is a creature of legislation (the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, Chapter 5:31 (the Act) – available online) set up many years ago to determine claims for ex gratia payments as compensation for injury or death to victims of certain crimes.
The applicable crimes which fall within the remit of the Board to award compensation include, but is not limited to: murder, manslaughter, wounding with intent, inflicting injury with or without a weapon, administering poison with intent to injure, annoy or endanger life, and offences under the Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 11:28. The funds used to pay compensation to victims or their dependants under the Act are appropriated from the country’s Consolidated Fund.
To benefit under the Act, you must be a person who suffers injury from one of the applicable crimes or be a dependant of a person who died as a result of an applicable crime. A prescribed form must be used and a printable PDF version can be found online if you use the following search words: “APPLICATION FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION ACT, 1999”
There is a time limit to make an application for compensation from the Board – one year after the date of the injury or death. A delayed application can be made, but the Board must be convinced that good cause exists for the delayed application.
The Board must give its decision whether or not to make payment in compensation within 30 days of acknowledgement of receipt of the application and all other supporting documents and information (e.g., medical certificate evidencing injury).
Compensation from the Board may be in respect of expenses reasonably incurred as a result of the injury or death of the victim; loss of earning power as a result of total or partial incapacity of such victim; pecuniary (monetary) loss to the dependant of the deceased victim; or other pecuniary loss or expenses incurred resulting from the personal injury or death of the victim which the Board determines to be reasonable.
Compensation may be paid whether or not the offender is prosecuted or convicted of the crime on account of which the application was made. However, the Board does have the power to suspend consideration of any application for such period as it thinks appropriate on the ground that the prosecution for the crime, out of which the injury occurred, has commenced or is imminent.
The Board has an absolute discretion as to the amount payable and their decision on any application is final. The amount payable on a successful application is limited: $25,000. However, the Act does give the Minister of National Security the power to increase that sum up to a maximum of $50,000.
Payments are made as a lump sum, except that in the case of death or protracted disability, compensation may be in the form of periodic payments to compensate for loss of earnings or support.
The above, in a nutshell, summarises some of the main aspects of the criminal injuries’ compensation regime under the Act. If you think you may be able to make an application to the Board, I encourage you to read the Act yourself to learn of its full provisions and limitations. Be safe T&T.
Copyright © 2023 Neela Ramsundar, LL.B (HONS), L.E.C is a Civil Litigation Attorney at Law & Certified Mediator.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and/or contain the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred as a consequence of relying on content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
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Another progressive piece of legislation done by a UNC government.. Concomitant with Procurement legislation, Freedom of information act, Integrity in public life act, Equal opportunity Act, Judicial Review act. These clearly demonstrate an administration work towards mitigation of corruption in public office…whilst a PNM administration shreds these pieces of legislation which fester an environment of corruption