Section 18.361 - Amount of award; reduction or denial of award.
CRIME VICTIMS COMPENSATION BOARD (EXCERPT)
Act 223 of 1976
18.361 Amount of award; reduction or denial of award.
Sec. 11.
(1) Except for a claim under section 5a, an award made under this act shall be an amount not more than an out-of-pocket loss, including indebtedness reasonably incurred for medical or other services necessary as a result of the injury upon which the claim is based, together with loss of earnings or support resulting from the injury. The aggregate award under this act shall not exceed $15,000.00 per claimant.
(2) Unless reduced under this act, an award made for loss of earnings or support shall be in an amount equal to the actual loss sustained. An award shall not exceed $200.00 for each week of lost earnings or support.
(3) An award made for funeral expenses, including burial expenses and grief counseling, shall be not less than $200.00 or more than $2,000.00 for each victim. The award may include not more than $500.00 to reimburse expenses for grief counseling for the victim's spouse, child, parent, or sibling.
(4) An award for psychological counseling shall not exceed 26 hourly sessions per victim or intervenor. The award may include not more than 8 family sessions that include any of the victim's or intervenor's spouse, children, parents, or siblings who are not criminally responsible for or an accomplice to the crime. The maximum hourly reimbursement rate shall not exceed $80.00 per hourly session for a therapist or counselor licensed or registered to practice in this state, except that the maximum hourly reimbursement rate shall not exceed $95.00 per hourly session for a psychologist or physician licensed to practice in this state.
(5) An award shall be reduced by the amount of 1 or more of the following payments received or to be received as a result of the injury:
(a) From or on behalf of the person who committed the crime.
(b) From insurance, but not including disability or death benefits paid or to be paid to a peace officer or a corrections officer on account of injuries sustained in the course of employment.
(c) From public funds, but not including disability or death benefits paid or to be paid to a peace officer or a corrections officer on account of injuries sustained in the course of employment.
(d) From an emergency award under section 9.
(6) In making a determination on a claim filed by a person listed in section 4(1)(a), (b), or (c), the commission shall determine whether the victim's misconduct contributed to his or her injury and shall reduce the amount of the award or reject the claim altogether, in accordance with the determination. The commission may disregard for this purpose the victim's responsibility for his or her own injury if the record shows that the injury was attributable to the victim's efforts to prevent a crime or an attempted crime from occurring in his or her presence or to apprehend a person who had committed a crime in his or her presence. As used in this subsection, "misconduct" includes but is not limited to provocation of or participation in a crime contemporaneous with or immediately preceding the injury.
(7) Except for a claim under section 5a, if the commission finds that the claimant will not suffer serious financial hardship as a result of the loss of earnings or support and the out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a result of the injury if he or she is not granted financial assistance, the commission shall deny the award. In determining the serious financial hardship, the commission shall consider all of the financial resources of the claimant.
(8) If the commission determines that the payment of an award will cause substantial unjust enrichment and economic benefit to a person criminally responsible for the crime, the commission shall deny the payment.
History: 1976, Act 223, Eff. Mar. 31, 1977 ;-- Am. 1985, Act 157, Imd. Eff. Nov. 15, 1985 ;-- Am. 1989, Act 247, Imd. Eff. Dec. 21, 1989 ;-- Am. 1990, Act 316, Imd. Eff. Dec. 20, 1990 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 519, Imd. Eff. Jan. 13, 1997 ;-- Am. 2008, Act 390, Imd. Eff. Dec. 29, 2008