An elderly man who pushed over a 90 year old lady broke the woman’s pelvis. Mr Alfred Young, aged 73, attacked Francesca Poka after she brushed against him with her walking stick and has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence as a result and now has to wear an electronic tag.
Mr Young allegedly followed the woman off a bus in Fallowfield, Manchester and, after shouting at her, pushed her to the ground. Mrs Poka spent six weeks in hospital following the attack in May 2008 and still suffers pain now. She now needs two crutches instead of the one walking stick she had previously and says her mobility has been affected.
Mr Young pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and has since conceded that it was an excessive response to push Mrs Poka.
As the victim of an attack, Mrs Poka would most likely be able to try and claim compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (also known as CICA). It appears that she would be eligible as she satisfies the criteria that her claim would have been within two years of the date of the incident that caused her injury, she was injured as a result of an act of violence in England, Scotland or Wales and as her injuries include a broken pelvis and have been ongoing for over a year it is most likely that they would be deemed serious enough to qualify for CICA’s minimum award of £1,000.
However, CICA may refuse to compensate victims or reduce their award depending on the circumstances of the incident, taking in to account the behaviour of the victim before, during or after the accident. It might therefore be deemed that because Mrs Poka aggravated Mr Young by glancing him with her walking stick that CICA would look to reduce the amount awarded to take in to account the act which appears to have antagonised Mr Young.
