CICB: Application & Hearing Process

Step 1: Before you file

As of October 1, 2019, the CICB is no longer accepting:

• applications for compensation
• requests for review hearings
• applications to vary an order for compensation

Compensation for Injury

We may award the following types of compensation for physical injuries or psychological harm that resulted from a violent crime in Ontario. We need receipts and/or supporting documents before we will make an award.

Treatment Expenses: May be awarded for ambulance fees, hospital charges, prosthetics, eyeglasses, prescriptions, dental expenses, and counselling expenses. Only expenses not payable by any other source (e.g. insurance, group benefits) will be considered.

Travel to Treatment Expenses: May be awarded if you need to travel more than 40 km each way from your residence for treatment.

Loss of Income: May be awarded to you (or a person responsible for your care) if you were unable to work because of injuries arising from the incident. We may award up to a maximum of $1,000 per month for lost income. Benefits received from other sources (e.g. Employment Insurance, CPP, disability benefits, long-term or short-term employer benefits) may be deducted from this amount.

Pain and Suffering: May be awarded based on several factors, including:

1. the nature of the crime/abuse
2. any breach of trust or abuse of power
3. the age and vulnerability of the victim
4. the degree of violence involved
5. the seriousness of the injuries or the extent of the harm
6. the recovery period
7. the possibility of a continuing disability
8. the impact the crime/abuse on the victim's life

Other: Costs associated with the support of a child born as a result of a sexual assault.

Compensation for Death

We may award the following types of compensation for a death that resulted from a violent crime in Ontario.

Funeral and burial expenses: We may compensate you for the cost of a funeral director, clergy, casket, cemetery plot, grave marker, cremation, newspaper notices and death certificates.

Loss of financial support: We may compensate you if you are a dependent who relied on the deceased person for financial support prior to his/her death. We need proof that the deceased person provided financial support to make this kind of award.

Bereavement counselling: We may compensate family members of a deceased person for the cost of bereavement counselling.

Other expenses: We may compensate you for any other expenses that were reasonably incurred as a result of the death.

For more information, see the information sheet: Claims Arising from Homicide.

Compensation for Mental or Nervous Shock

If you witnessed or came upon the scene of a crime that resulted in a death and you meet the criteria for a finding of "mental or nervous shock" we may compensate you for the following:

Treatment expenses: May be awarded for ambulance fees, hospital charges, counselling expenses. Only expenses not payable by any other source (e.g. insurance, employment group benefits, WSIB benefits) will be considered.

Travel to treatment expenses: May be awarded if you need to travel more than 40 km each way from your residence for treatment.

Loss of income: May be awarded if you are or were unable to work due to your condition. We may award up to a maximum of $1,000 per month for lost income. Any benefits received from other sources may be deducted from this amount.

Pain and suffering: May be awarded depending on based on several factors including:

1. the extent of the psychological harm
2. the treatment required and recovery period
3. the possibility of a continuing disability
4. the impact that witnessing the death had on your life

For more information, see the information sheet: Mental or Nervous Shock Claims.

Awards

Lump sum awards: When one person is injured or killed as a result of a violent crime, the maximum lump sum award is $30,000.

The maximum the Board can award for pain and suffering is $5,000.

When more than one person has been injured or killed as the result of a violent crime, the maximum lump sum award is $150,000 shared among all of the claimants.

Periodic awards: Can be made in cases when there is an ongoing financial loss (e.g. lost income, child care expenses). Periodic awards are paid on a monthly basis and cannot exceed $1,000 per month. Payments cannot exceed a total of $365,000.

In cases where a claimant receives a periodic award, the maximum lump sum award is $15,000 (instead of $30,000).

Interim awards: You may seek an award before a hearing for income support, funeral expenses and/or medical treatment expenses. This is called an interim award. We only make interim awards if you can show that you need the money urgently before your hearing. You will also have to provide evidence, such as police and/or medical records that lead us to conclude that an award will likely be made at the time of the hearing. To apply for an interim award, contact us.

Your Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW) Benefits: If you receive an award from us while you are also receiving benefits from either the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Ontario Works (OW), you must tell your OW or ODSP caseworker in writing about any award you receive from the CICB. The CICB award may affect your benefits. Contact your caseworker or read the information sheet: CICB Awards, the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works for more information.

Step 3: After you apply

How to prepare for your hearing.

When we receive an application form, we assign it a file number which we will include on all our correspondence to you. Write the file number on any documents you send us.

If you did not answer all of the questions in the application form, it will delay the processing of your claim. We may contact you for missing information or documents. We will also contact you if you are not eligible.

Gathering documents for your hearing

We will assess receipts, medical or counselling reports, police reports, and court records.

You are responsible for gathering:

• Reports from your treatment providers or making sure your treatment providers send them to us. We will give you instructions on how to get these reports. If you are having trouble getting these reports, please let us know. We may be able to help. We will pay all or part of the costs for obtaining the reports. See the information sheet: Payments for Medical Reports for more information.
• Letters of support. If the crime was not reported to the police, you may need to identify individuals who witnessed the crime or were aware of it, and send us letters of support that talk about your character, your credibility or corroborate (confirm) what you say about the crime and the effect it had on your life. These letters can be written by relatives, close friends or elders.

The CICB will:

• contact the police service involved to request a written report.
• obtain documents (e.g. a decision, transcript) regarding the outcome of any criminal trial that resulted from the crime. If the matter is still before the courts, we may not be able to proceed with your hearing until the trial is completed.

Your responsibilities before the hearing

Gathering all of the information needed to support your claim can take some time. The more quickly we receive all of the information, the more quickly your application can be processed.

It is your responsibility to:

• submit a properly completed application form
• respond to our letters and/or requests for information in a timely manner
• follow up with your treatment providers to ensure they send us your records
• let us know when the criminal trial is completed, so we can request the court documents
• inform us of any changes in your situation that may impact your claim, such as changes in the injury/medical condition that resulted from the crime
• keep your address and phone number up to date. Your file may not be processed if we are unable to contact you
• notify us if you receive payment compensation for the injury or death from the offender or alleged offender (restitution or through civil action), insurance, WSIB, or any other government or private agency

Scheduling your hearing

When the file is ready, we will schedule a written or electronic hearing. We will mail you a notice of hearing, which is a document that tells you the date and type of hearing and if applicable, the time of the hearing.

You are responsible for making sure that we have your current telephone numbers and mailing address. If your contact information changes, submit the Notice of Change of Address or call or email the CICB with your updated contact information as soon as possible.

Notice to the alleged offender

The Board's Practice Direction on Alleged Offenders outlines how the Board engages with and notifies alleged offenders of a claim. If it is not clear to the Board, whether a crime of violence occurred, the CICB may issue a Notice of Application to a person identified in the application as responsible for the alleged crime of violence. The person you say is responsible for the violent crime is called the "alleged offender". If a court has found that person guilty of the crime he or she is called the "offender".

We will advise you if the alleged offender will be notified. If you have concerns about their participation, you must tell us as soon as possible during the application process.

If the alleged offender is notified, we will disclose documents or portions of documents that relate to the alleged crime or crimes of violence. Your personal particulars and information about your injuries/treatment and details of compensation requested are not shared with the alleged offender.

Generally, an alleged offender's participation will be by way of written submissions, however, on occasion, the Board may determine that, based on his/her submissions, an alleged offender must take part in the hearing to support proper adjudication. If this is the case, the alleged offender will communicate by phone or video conference.

The alleged offender will receive a copy of the CICB's decision.

Step 4: The hearing

The different types of hearings and who will be there.

Types of hearings

Written Hearing

If your claim can be assessed based on written evidence alone, you won't need to attend a hearing. The adjudicators (also called members) will make a decision based on the information in the file. See the information sheet: Written Hearings.

Electronic Hearing

During an electronic hearing, you would be on the phone or video conference while the adjudicators are at a hearing site.

Examples of times we would hold an electronic hearing include:

• If the alleged offender is participating
• You have mobility issues that make it difficult to get to the hearing site
• Your claim can be assessed without you appearing in person

See the information sheet: Electronic Hearings.

At the hearing

Language of the hearing

Hearings are conducted in either English or French. If you require an interpreter in a language other than English or French, let us know and we will arrange for an accredited interpreter to attend your hearing. For more information see: Language Services.

Who attends the hearing

Lawyer or paralegal: The CICB does not expect you to have a legal representative at a hearing, but you can have one if you want. A legal representative could be a lawyer or paralegal. If you have a legal representative, we will communicate only with that person and not with you.

Support Persons: A support person, such as a family member or friend, can attend a hearing with you.

Police: Police who investigated the incident may be asked to attend the hearing as a witness. They could be asked about their investigation, whether you cooperated during the police investigation and court proceedings, as well as the outcome of any criminal court proceedings related to the crime.

The Alleged Offender: The person you say is responsible for the violent crime is called the "alleged offender". If a court has found that person guilty of the crime he or she is called the "offender". If it is not clear whether a crime of violence occurred, the CICB may notify the alleged offender about the application.

The CICB's proceeding is not adversarial. Many CICB applications are decided on the basis of written materials and without an oral hearing. An alleged offender is invited to participate in the proceeding by making written submissions. They will be on the phone or video conference. We will tell you in advance if an alleged offender will participate in the hearing process.

For more information, see "Notice to the alleged offender", in Step 3.

Witnesses: A person who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard or experienced is called a witness. The information that a witness gives is called evidence. If you want to have someone give evidence at your hearing, you must complete a Request for Summons as soon as possible after receiving the Notice of Hearing and, in any event, at least 7 days before the hearing. We will only issue a summons if we think that the witness' evidence will be relevant to the proceeding. If the CICB issues a summons, it is your responsibility to have personally delivered it ("served") to the witness and to pay the witness fees.

Members of the public and media: Oral hearings are usually open to the public and the media, if they choose to attend. However, the hearing may be closed if:

1. there are public safety concerns
2. there are ongoing criminal proceedings
3. the claim involves a sexual offence, spousal abuse or child abuse.

If you have concerns about participating in an open hearing, you must tell us during the application process.

People under 18: A person under 18 who has received the CICB's permission to make an application on their own must attend the hearing. A person under 18 who has a litigation guardian is not required to attend, unless they are giving evidence.

Step 5: After the hearing

How members make a decision and how you will get your decision.

How members decide whether to make an award

To decide whether to make an award and the amount of the award we consider:

• whether there is enough reliable evidence to support the claim.
• whether the incident is considered a violent crime under the Criminal Code or an arrest occurred, or whether the injured/deceased person was assisting a peace officer with their law enforcement duties, or trying to prevent a crime. Note: The law changes over time. When we decide whether a violent crime took place, we will consider the version of the Criminal Code that was in effect when the incident happened.
• all of the relevant circumstances, including any behaviour of the injured/deceased person that caused or contributed to the injuries or death.
• whether the claimant refused reasonable cooperation with the police or failed to report the offence promptly to the police.
• whether the claimant has received benefits paid by private insurance, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board or any other source, as a result of the crime. This does not include Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program.

The Decision

If the adjudicators tell you their decision at the hearing

At the end of an electronic (telephone or video) hearing, the adjudicators will sometimes tell you their decision and then email or mail the written decision to you and your counsel, if you have a legal representative. In that case, you will receive the written decision in 4-6 weeks.

If the adjudicators don't tell you their decision at the hearing

Adjudicators don't always make a decision immediately. They could issue a decision later with written reasons. In this case, you will usually receive your decision within 2 to 3 months of the hearing.

If a written hearing was held in your case, you will usually receive a decision by email or mail within 2 to 3 months.

Your award

If you are awarded compensation, you will receive a cheque separately in the mail 30 days after you receive the written decision.

If you sue and the court awards you money related to the incident, you must reimburse the CICB for the money you received. Write a letter explaining what happened and enclose a cheque.

If your claim is denied, you will be given the reasons for the denial.