No payout for Arena blast victim
A DAD who was seriously injured during the Manchester Arena terror attack claims he’s been ‘unfairly’ denied compensation from the government.
Phil Hassell, 41, had to be put into an induced coma so medics could operate on his brain and remove shrapnel from his leg, following the blast on May 22, 2017.
He spent months in hospital and was unable to go back to his job as a scaffolder for more than three years due to the severity of his injuries.
The dad-of-two, who went to the concert with his daughters, says he hasn’t been paid the amount of criminal injury compensation he believes he’s owed since the atrocity.
He has been told this is due to a criminal conviction in the magistrates’ court, which he received more than three years on from the blast.
Phil says the decision by the Ministry of Justice has left him struggling financially, and claims it has ‘forced him’ to go back to his job as a scaffolder.
“I remember bits and bobs from the aftermath of the blast but nothing much,” said the dad, recalling the events of that awful night.
“I had shrapnel in my brain, in my leg, and in my side. I was in theatre for five hours while they removed the shrapnel.”
Phil, from Runcorn, says he has since had to have a plate fitted in his leg, and still suffers with confusion and periods of low mood following on from his ordeal. He claims he received some money from the One Love fundraiser, which was set up by the M.E.N and raised millions of pounds following Ariana’s Grande’s benefit concert.
But the dad says he’s been refused the full amount of money from the government’s Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme (CICS), due to a criminal conviction he received in 2020.
The M.E.N. understands Mr Hassell was given an interim payment of £10,000 shortly after the blast, but he has not received any money since.
He was convicted of one count of sending a malicious communication at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on October 2, last year, and was handed a 12-month community order.
A letter signed by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in July this year states the award can be withheld or reduced “because the applicant to who the award would be made has unspent convictions”.
“They had originally offered me £23,000 a couple of years ago but this was based on me being back in work when I wasn’t so I rejected it and appealed for more,” Phil said.
“I have a brain injury and I wasn’t thinking straight when it (the offence) happened. Because I retaliated and did something I regret I’ve been penalised. I tried appealing the decision but this was unsuccessful.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are determined to provide victims with the support they need.
“But to reflect the cost to society caused by offending, unspent convictions may lead to compensation payments being reduced or withheld.”
I have a brain injury and I wasn’t thinking straight when I committed the offence
Phil Hassell