Bristow, Re [1992] QSC 38

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND No. 551 of 1991 Before the Honourable Mr. Justice Ambrose AND: IN THE MATTER of the Criminal Code of Queensland IN THE MATTER of an application by JOHN GOMEZ BRISTOW for compensation pursuant to s. 663B of the Criminal Code of Queensland REASONS FOR JUDGMENT - B.W. AMBROSE J. Delivered the 26th day of February 1992. Counsel Mr. Pratt for the Applicant. Solicitors Gilshenan & Luton t/a for J.F. Connors & Associate for the Applicant. Hearing date 13th December 1991 -- 1 of 4 -- IN THE SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND AND: No. 551 of 1991 IN THE MATTER of the Criminal Code of Queensland IN THE MATTER of an application by JOHN GOMEZ BRISTOW for compensation pursuant to s. 663B of the Criminal Code of Queensland REASONS FOR JUDGMENT - B.W. AMBROSE J. Delivered the 26th day of February 1992. This is an application by a 30 year old man who received a bullet wound to the left thigh on 7th April 1990. The applicant is a citizen of the United States of America who works in California as a painter and tiler. At the time of his injury the applicant was on an extended vacation and was pursuing his interest of surf board riding in the Gold Coast area. At about 4.p.m. on the day he was injured the applicant was walking to a carpark at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast when his attention was attracted by the sound of shots. After a brief lull in the shots, he again heard shots being fired and became aware of bullets striking the ground near where he was standing. He was then hit by a bullet on his left upper thigh. He immediately took cover behind a van. He did not see who was firing the shots. -- 2 of 4 -- 2 The applicant and two of his friends then entered a building and travelled to the top floor so that they might more readily see what was happening outside the building. The applicant and his frierids heard shots and eventually saw the respondent, Rodney John Dale, overcome by a police officer and arrested. The applicant received treatment at the Gold Coast Hospital Board. His wound was a superficial one and the projectile was removed from his thigh. He received an anti-tetanus injection and was allowed to go home. Subsequently over about a month he visited the Gold Coast Hospital for outpatient treatment on about 14 occasions when he was informed he no longer needed treatment. According to the medical evidence the applicant is now able to engage in all the physical activities in which he previously engaged. It is more than a year since the injury and the applicant has been left with an itchy discomforting sensation around the scar which has remained on his thigh since his wound healed. The applicant is now able to jump and squat, and his ability to ride a surf board seems not to have been affected. About 12 months after his injury he was still suffering occasional nightmares. According to the medical evidence the applicant will suffer no long term major consequences from the injury. However the injury caused damage to the superficial skin nerves and there seems to be no treatment which will relieve him of these symptoms. According to the medical evidence the applicant will simply have to learn to live with the irritation in the vicinity of his scar and he might have to do that it seems for the rest of his life. There is some possibility apparently that it may -- 3 of 4 -- 3 disappear but as I read the material there is an equal possibility that he may have to put up with the irritation indefinitely. He has been left with a scar, the area around which is tender to touch. The man, Dale, was convicted on 12th July 1991 of a criminal offence committed upon the applicant. The application for compensation is made under s. 663A of the Criminal Code. The maximum amount of compensation that may be paid is that prescribed under s. 663AA of the Code. The assessment of compensation for the applicant is to be made by way of analogy with the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act 1916-1938- seeR. v. Castle and Hughes ex parte Hanson (1990) Qd. R. 560. Fortunately for the.applicant in this case he seems to have been left with no permanent residual disability of a sort for which the Workers' Compensation Act specifies a lump sum payment although he may have to suffer from an irritating itch in the vicinity of the scar for an indefinite period - perhaps for the rest of his life. Doing as best I can in the circumstances I assess compensation for the applicant in the sum of $1,000. -- 4 of 4 --