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The Board shall make an award solely to eligible
victims of violent crimes as said crimes are defined by N.J.S.A. 52:4B-11.
- In instances where the victim of the crime has died
as a direct result, thereof, the Board may award compensation to the
following persons:
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A surviving spouse, parent, or child of the deceased
victim who has suffered economic loss;
- Any relative of the deceased victim as defined in
N.J.S.A. 52:4B-2 who was dependent upon the victim for support, or any
person who has cohabited with the victim/decedent and who can establish by a
preponderance of evidence that a dependency existed at the time of death of
the victim. In examining the issue of loss of support as it relates to this
paragraph, the Board shall consider any factor it deems relevant.
- The relative, estate of, or other natural persons
who have demonstrated out-of-pocket, unreimbursed and unreimbursable medical
and funeral expenses for which they have become responsible on behalf of the
decedent due to the incident upon which the claim is based.
- For all incidents occurring on or after January 1,
1999, the Board may award compensation for loss of support to any victim or
claimant who can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the
time of the incident, a dependency existed, upon the income or other
economic contributions of the victim's assailant or offender, and which no
longer available to or accessible by the victim.
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In computing the loss of support of the victim or
claimant dependent, the Board shall only consider the assailant/offender's
earnings and/or the amount of money or economic contributions the
assailant/offender was actually contributing to the victim and victim's
household at the time of the injury of the victim.
- Where the dependents have received or are receiving
a greater sum of money from other sources by reason of the incident giving
rise to the claim for compensation than the sum contributed to their support
by the assailant/offender at the time of incident, no compensation for loss
of support shall be awarded to the dependents.
- The Board, however, reserves the right to review its
determination should the victim's dependency, marital or earnings status be
altered, and to modify its award accordingly.
- Where a dependency upon the assailant/offender has
been established, loss of support may be compensated only:
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for a period not to exceed 48 months
- during a period of incarceration of the
assailant/offender for a minimum period of at least two weeks
- where the assailant/offender is deceased or
remains a fugitive from prosecution and/or his whereabouts remain unknown
for a minimum period of at least two weeks
- where the assailant/offender has ceased providing
support to the victim, in total or in part, due to the incident giving rise
to the claim for a minimum period of at least two weeks
- where compensation paid to the victim does not
result in a substantial unjust enrichment to the assailant/offender as
provided by N.J.A.C. 13:75-1.6(c)(1)(i-viii)
- where compensation paid to the victim does not
relieve the assailant/offender from any monetary obligation imposed by the
court or other legal document, prior to, as a direct result of or subsequent
to the incident giving rise to the claim for compensation, as the
assailant/offender's legal duty toward the victim, the victim's family or a
member of the assailant/offender's family
- where the victim and/or claimant cooperates in
the prosecution of the offender, including the filing and prosecution of a
criminal complaint against the offender, unless a compelling health or
safety reason is shown for a failure to so cooperate
- where the victim has been determined to be
eligible for compensation under N.J.S. 52:4B-1 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 13:75-1
et. seq. which govern the Board
- A victim and/or claimant shall not receive
compensation for loss of support under this section for more than two
separate incidents involving the same assailant/offender, nor receive more
than one such award within a period of 12 consecutive months
- The victim and/or claimant shall inform the Board
whether the assailant/offender continues, or commences again, to provide
support, in total or in part, in any form, to the victim
and /or family and whether the assailant/offender
resides with the victim at any time subsequent to the incident giving rise
to the claim for compensation. Failure to provide the Board with said
information shall be a basis for denial or cessation of the payment of
compensation and good cause for the Board to seek reimbursement for any
award paid in the claim.
- The Board reserves the right to seek reimbursement
from the offender as provided by N.J.S.A. 52-4B-20 for any payments made to
the victim and/or claimant under these rules.
- (d) Any claimant who is held by the Board to be
responsible for the crime upon which a claim is based, or is held to have
been an accomplice or conspirator of the offender is not eligible for
compensation. For incidents occurring after March 3, 1983, and continuing
through July 17, 1990, a relative of the offender or a victim living with
the offender as a member of the offender's family relationship group may
recover, if subsequent to the incident giving rise to the claim, the
claimant no longer resides in the same household as the offender and the
claimant cooperated in the prosecution of the offender.
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For incidents and injuries occurring on or after
July 17, 1990, the Board will apply the same standards that are applied to
claims filed by the victims of other violent crimes regardless of the
familial relationship of the offender and the victim or the fact that they
share a residence.
However, no award will be made if compensation to the
victim proves to be substantial unjust enrichment to the offender. Where the
enrichment is inconsequential or minimal, compensation shall not be denied
nor reduced.
The factors to be considered in determining whether the
unjust enrichment is substantial include, but are not limited to:
- the amount of the award and whether it is made
directly to the victim;
- whether the offender has access to any cash
payments coming into the household on behalf of the victim;
- whether the award is essential to the well-being
of the victim and other innocent and dependent family members;
- the amount of the living expenses paid by the
offender before and during the pendency of the claim;
- if a significant portion of the award will be used
by the offender for living expenses;
- the legal responsibilities of the offender to the
victim;
- collateral resources available to the victim from
the offender which resources include, but are not limited to, court-ordered
restitution or support, insurance and pension benefits. In evaluating
collateral resources the Board may consider whether the offender has a legal
responsibility to pay, whether the offender has the resources to pay, and
whether payment is likely. The victim will not be penalized for failure of
the offender to meet his obligation to pay for the costs of the victim's
recovery; and
- the offender's cooperation in providing the
Victims of Crime Compensation Board with information concerning medical
insurance coverage and any other information necessary for the Board to make
a determination.
- (e) The Board reserves the right to consider any
circumstances it deems to be relevant, including but not limited to,
provocation, consent, participation in an illegal activity or behavior on
the part of the victim which, directly or indirectly, contributed to his
injury or death, and the prior case history of the victim which may also
include matters pertaining to the victim's medical history, and whether the
victim cooperated with reasonable requests of law enforcement authorities or
showed a compelling health or safety reason why they could not cooperate.
- (f) No compensation shall be awarded if the victim is
injured as a result of the operation of a motor vehicle, vessel, airplane or
commercial vehicle unless the same was used as a weapon in the deliberate
attempt to run the victim down, or the victim was injured in the commission
of a violation of N.J.S.A.. 39:4-50, 39:3-10.13 or 12:7-46, operating a
motor vehicle, vessel, airplane or commercial vehicle while under the
influence of an intoxicating liquor or drugs as provided in N.J.A.C.
13:75-1.7 (i). The Board may further order the payment of compensation to a
victim who sustains injury or death as a result of an offender eluding a law
enforcement officer in pursuit of that offender.
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For incidents occurring on or after June 26, 1995,
compensation shall be awarded which involves the theft of a motor vehicle
wherein an offender with purpose to withhold temporarily from the owner or
legal operator, takes, operates or exercises control over a motor vehicle
without the consent of the owner or other person authorized to give consent
and causes injury or death to a victim due to the unlawful use of said motor
vehicle.
- Unrelated to its normal operation, where a motor
vehicle, vessel, airplane or commercial vehicle is used as a weapon,
including, but not limited to, as a vehicle to carry explosives with intent
to detonate the same, which inflicts bodily injury, the Board shall consider
such use as a compensable crime involving violence as set forth in N.J.S.A.
52:4B-11(b)(10).
- For incidents occurring on or after January 1, 1996,
where the operator of a motor vehicle, vessel, airplane or commercial
vehicle leaves the scene of an accident in violation of R.S. 39:4-129 (a) or
R.S. 12:7-34 and the circumstances surrounding the incident cannot be
established by a preponderance of the credible evidence, it shall be
presumed that the victim was injured as a result of the operation of a motor
vehicle, vessel or airplane that was either unlawfully taken from its owner,
used as a weapon in a deliberate attempt to run the victim down, driven
while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance or
in an attempt to elude a law enforcement officer.
- (g) Eligible victims@ shall include:
- Non-residents and Federal crime victims on the same
basis as State residents who are victims of a crime committed in the State;
- Residents of the State injured in a foreign
jurisdiction where said jurisdiction is without a victim compensation
program; and
- Residents of the State who have received a final
determination from a foreign jurisdiction as to a claim filed with a
victim's compensation program which determination has not fully compensated
the victim or claimant for all out-of-pocket and unreimbursed and
unreimbursable expenses.
- However, where residents of
the State are injured in a foreign state, said foreign state has primary
jurisdiction and the State will not entertain a claim for compensation until
victim or claimant has fully exhausted all available procedures for victim's
compensation in said foreign state.
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