The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in R(LXR) v Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
The appeal concerned the circumstances in which a previous award of compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme could be reopened.
The Upper Tribunal had held that an award could be re-opened where there was a material change in any or all of the “aetiology, diagnosis, symptoms, disablement, and treatment or medication” of the applicant’s condition.
The Court of Appeal set aside that decision. It held that there was no error in the First-tier Tribunal’s decision, which was a decision on the facts before it. That is, that there was no material change in the applicant’s medical condition where new evidence had attributed his symptoms to the crime of violence, but there had been no material change in his symptoms themselves.
The Court of Appeal also observed that insofar as the Upper Tribunal has to decide question of laws, it has to do so by reference to the particular facts and the issues before it, not in the abstract.
Robert Moretto represented the CICA in their successful appeal. Robert was assisted by Annie Davis.
The judgment can be found here.
