Examples of applications

In order to give you an idea of the applications received by the Fund, we provide a number of actual examples. Descriptions of successful applications are listed first, followed by unsuccessful ones.

Robbery

A woman was working in her own restaurant and saw two men enter it. They came and stood next to the woman. One of them said to her, ‘Robbery!’ In his hand this man had a small knife, which he pointed at the woman. While one of the men prevented the woman escaping to the kitchen, the other took money out of the till. The woman’s mobile telephone was also taken. The offenders then left the restaurant. They were not caught. The woman claimed that she now fears her clients.
The Fund awarded her € 550 for immaterial damage and € 51 for material damage (travel expenses).
 

Emotional shock damage

A man was visiting his cousin. The doorbell rang and the cousin opened the door. The man saw that his cousin had become engaged in a fight with the man who had rung the bell. The man saw that this man had a knife in his hand. The man decided to intervene and grasped the offender. Meanwhile the cousin fell to the ground. The man told his cousin to get up. The man then saw his cousin’s trousers gradually becoming soaked with blood. The man heard his cousin gasping for breath. The cousin died before the police and ambulance reached the scene.
The Fund awarded him € 4,150 for emotional shock damage.
 

Surviving relatives or partners

The psychotic son of a man was behaving aggressively. The son took his father for the devil. Because of the son’s psychotic state, the family tried to have him placed in an institution. The son went to his father and an argument arose between them. Neighbours heard a lot of noise in the man’s home and subsequently saw the son leaving it. The son told friends he had killed his father, saying his father looked like a monster and the fight was one which only one person could win. The friends informed the family. A family member checked the home and found the father lying dead in it. Police investigations showed that the man had received multiple knife wounds.
The Fund awarded the surviving relatives € 5,209 for burial and travel expenses. 

Assault

A man was walking his dog. The dog barked at a boy, after which the boy kicked the dog. The man said something about this, after which the boy beat him up and kicked him. The man’s injuries consisted of a broken fibula and tibia (calf and shin bones), for which he received an operation. The healing process was accompanied by complications, however, for which he received a second operation. The man was then declared fully incapacitated for work for at least a year, the result being that he had to close his independent dental practice.
The Fund awarded him € 5,500 for immaterial damage and € 22,700 for material damage because of his loss of capacity for work.
 

No serious injury

A young man was in a pub with a friend where they encountered two brothers they were vaguely acquainted with. One of the brothers received a nudge, spilling beer from his glass. The brothers accused the young man and demanded that he buy another beer. The young man denied any involvement and refused to buy another beer. In response one of the brothers hit the young man’s lip. The other brother threw a beer bottle at the young man, hitting him on the mouth. As a result he lost part of his front tooth, which had to be replaced.
The Fund rejected the application because under the Violent Offences Compensation Fund Act the young man had not suffered any serious injury.
 

Expenses reimbursed by insurance

A woman was walking around a shopping centre with her friend. Suddenly somebody tugged her jacket, pulling her off balance. The woman saw that the man who had tugged her jacket was someone she had been chatting to over the Internet a year previously. The man swore at the woman and pushed her against a wall. The man then butted the woman with his head and ran away. As a result the woman lost a tooth. The woman was awarded compensation by the Fund. Subsequently, as a result of her tooth injury, she incurred additional expenses. These expenses were reimbursed by the health insurance company.
The Fund rejected the additional application because the additional expenses were reimbursed by the health insurer.