Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority v First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber)

Compensation – Criminal injuries. The interested party suffered serious injuries from riding his bicycle into a car to avoid an aggressive dog. The claimant Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority refused his claim for compensation. The First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) (the FTT) awarded him damages and the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) (the UT) upheld its finding. The claimant appealed on the grounds that no criminal offence and, alternatively, no crime of violence had been committed. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in allowing the appeal, held that the FTT's finding that an offence had been committed had been reasonably open to it. However, it had not been open to the FTT to find that the offence had been a crime of violence.