N.Y. Exec. Law § 631

§ 631. Awards. 1. No award shall be made unless the office finds that\n(a) a crime was committed, (b) such crime directly resulted in personal\nphysical injury to or the exacerbation of a preexisting disability, or\ncondition, or death of, the victim, and (c) criminal justice agency\nrecords show that such crime was promptly reported to the proper\nauthorities; and in no case may an award be made where the criminal\njustice agency records show that such report was made more than one week\nafter the occurrence of such crime unless the office, for good cause\nshown, finds the delay to have been justified; provided, however, in\ncases involving an alleged sex offense as contained in article one\nhundred thirty of the penal law or incest as defined in section 255.25,\n255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law or labor trafficking as defined in\nsection 135.35 of the penal law or sex trafficking as defined in section\n230.34 of the penal law or an offense chargeable as a family offense as\ndescribed in section eight hundred twelve of the family court act or\nsection 530.11 of the criminal procedure law, the criminal justice\nagency report need only be made within a reasonable time considering all\nthe circumstances, including the victim's physical, emotional and mental\ncondition and family situation. For the purposes of this subdivision,\n"criminal justice agency" shall include, but not be limited to, a police\ndepartment, a district attorney's office, and any other governmental\nagency having responsibility for the enforcement of the criminal laws of\nthe state provided, however, that in cases involving such sex offense a\ncriminal justice agency shall also mean a family court, a governmental\nagency responsible for child and/or adult protective services pursuant\nto title six of article six of the social services law and/or title one\nof article nine-B of the social services law, and any medical facility\nestablished under the laws of the state that provides a forensic\nphysical examination for victims of rape and sexual assault.\n 1-a. No award shall be made for a frivolous lawsuit unless the office\nfinds that the victim has been awarded costs pursuant to section\neighty-three hundred three-a of the civil practice law and rules and the\nindividual responsible for the payment of costs is unable to pay such\ncosts provided, however, that in no event shall the amount of such costs\nexceed two thousand five hundred dollars.\n 2. Any award made pursuant to this article shall be in an amount not\nexceeding out-of-pocket expenses, including indebtedness reasonably\nincurred for medical or other services necessary as a result of the\ninjury upon which the claim is based; loss of earnings or support\nresulting from such injury not to exceed thirty thousand dollars; burial\nexpenses not exceeding six thousand dollars of a victim who died as a\ndirect result of a crime; the costs of crime scene cleanup and securing\nof a crime scene not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars; reasonable\nrelocation expenses not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars; and the\nunreimbursed cost of repair or replacement of articles of essential\npersonal property lost, damaged or destroyed as a direct result of the\ncrime. An award for loss of earnings shall include earnings lost by a\nparent or guardian as a result of the hospitalization of a child victim\nunder age eighteen for injuries sustained as a direct result of a crime.\nIn addition to the medical or other services necessary as a result of\nthe injury upon which the claim is based, an award may be made for\nrehabilitative occupational training for the purpose of job retraining\nor similar employment-oriented rehabilitative services based upon the\nclaimant's medical and employment history. For the purpose of this\nsubdivision, rehabilitative occupational training shall include but not\nbe limited to educational training and expenses. An award for\nrehabilitative occupational training may be made to a victim, or to a\nfamily member of a victim where necessary as a direct result of a crime.\n 3. Any award made for loss of earnings or support shall, unless\nreduced pursuant to other provisions of this article, be in an amount\nequal to the actual loss sustained, provided, however, that no such\naward shall exceed six hundred dollars for each week of lost earnings or\nsupport. Awards with respect to livery operator victims pursuant to\nparagraphs (f) and (g) of subdivision one of section six hundred\ntwenty-seven of this article shall be granted in the amount and in the\nmanner provided therein. The aggregate award for all such losses\npursuant to this subdivision, including any awards made pursuant to\nparagraphs (f) and (g) of subdivision one of section six hundred\ntwenty-seven of this article, shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars.\nIf there are two or more persons entitled to an award as a result of the\ndeath of a person which is the direct result of a crime, the award shall\nbe apportioned by the office among the claimants.\n 4. Any award made pursuant to this article shall be reduced by the\namount of any payments received or to be received by the claimant as a\nresult of the injury (a) from or on behalf of the person who committed\nthe crime, (b) under insurance programs mandated by law, (c) from public\nfunds, (d) under any contract of insurance wherein the claimant is the\ninsured or beneficiary, (e) as an emergency award pursuant to section\nsix hundred thirty of this article. Notwithstanding the foregoing, where\nthe person injured is a livery operator victim, because undue hardship\nmay result to the claimant if immediate payment is not made, any award\npursuant to paragraphs (f) and (g) of subdivision one of section six\nhundred twenty-seven of this article shall be granted without reduction\nfor workers' compensation benefits to be received, if any.\n 5. (a) In determining the amount of an award, the office shall\ndetermine whether, because of his conduct, the victim of such crime\ncontributed to the infliction of his injury, and the office shall reduce\nthe amount of the award or reject the claim altogether, in accordance\nwith such determination.\n (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision, the office shall disregard for this purpose the\nresponsibility of the victim for his own injury where the record shows\nthat the person injured was acting as a good samaritan, as defined in\nthis article.\n (c) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article, where\nthe person injured acted as a good samaritan, the office may, without\nregard to the financial difficulty of the claimant, make an award for\nout-of-pocket losses. Such award may also include compensation for any\nloss of property up to five thousand dollars suffered by the victim\nduring the course of his actions as a good samaritan.\n (d) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article, where\na person acted as a good samaritan, and was killed as a direct result of\nthe crime, the office may, without regard to the financial difficulty of\nthe claimant, make a lump sum award to such claimant for actual loss of\nsupport not to exceed thirty thousand dollars.\n (e) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article, where\na police officer or firefighter, both paid and volunteer, dies from\ninjuries received in the line of duty as a direct result of a crime, the\noffice may, without regard to the financial difficulty of the claimant,\nmake an award for the unreimbursed counseling expenses of the eligible\nspouse, parents, brothers, sisters or children of such victim, and/or\nthe reasonable burial expenses incurred by the claimant.\n 6. (a) Claims may be approved only if the office finds that unless the\nclaimant's award is approved he or she will suffer financial difficulty.\nHowever, no finding of financial difficulty is required for a claim for\nan emergency award or an award less than ten thousand dollars. In\ndetermining financial difficulty, the office shall consider all relevant\nfactors, including but not limited to:\n (1) the number of claimant's dependents;\n (2) reasonable living expenses of the claimant and his family;\n (3) any special health, rehabilitative or educational needs of the\nclaimant and his dependents;\n (4) the claimant's employment situation including income and potential\nearning capacity;\n (5) the claimant's net financial resources after authorized deduction\nas provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision;\n (6) whether claimant's financial resources will become exhausted\nduring his lifetime; and\n (7) the nature and the amount of claimant's total debt and\nliabilities, including the amount of debt incurred or to be incurred to\npay for losses and expenses of the crime, and the extent to which\nclaimant's essential assets will have to be liquidated.\n (b) Claimant's net financial resources do not include the present\nvalue of future earnings, and shall be determined by the office by\ndeducting from his total financial resources the value, within\nreasonable limits, of the following items:\n (1) a homestead, not exceeding five hundred thousand dollars, or a\ntotal of ten years' rent for a renter;\n (2) personal property consisting of clothing and strictly personal\neffects;\n (3) household furniture, appliances and equipment;\n (4) tools and equipment necessary for the claimant's trade, occupation\nor business;\n (5) a family automobile;\n (6) life insurance, except in death claims; and\n (7) retirement, education and health plans or contributions to a\nretirement or pension program including but not limited to contributions\nto: (i) employee profit sharing plans, (ii) employee money purchase\nplans, (iii) 401 (k) plans, (iv) simplified employee pensions (SEP), (v)\nindividual retirement accounts (IRA), (vi) 403 (b) plans, (vii) 457\nplans, (viii) Keogh plans, (self employed), and (ix) any other plan or\naccount for which contributions are made primarily for retirement\npurposes.\n (c) The office, after taking into consideration the claimant's\nfinancial resources, may exempt that portion of the victim's or\nclaimant's annual income required to meet reasonable living expenses and\nthe value of inventory or other property necessary for the claimant's\nbusiness or occupation or the production of income required to meet\nreasonable living expenses. In no event shall the aggregate value of\nexemptions under this paragraph exceed one hundred thousand dollars.\n (d) Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be construed to mean\nthat the office must maintain the same standard of living enjoyed by the\nclaimant prior to the death or injury.\n (e) The director shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are\nnecessary for the implementation of this section.\n 7. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision six of this section,\nan award shall include out-of-pocket expenses, including indebtedness\nreasonably incurred by the victim of a sex offense or the person\nresponsible for the victim of such sex offense, as such sex offense is\ndefined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law, for a hospital\nor medical examination in connection with the investigation or\nprosecution of any such offense.\n 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one, two and three\nof this section, an elderly or disabled victim who has not been\nphysically injured as a direct result of a crime, shall only be eligible\nfor an award that includes the unreimbursed cost of repair or\nreplacement of essential personal property that has been lost, damaged\nor destroyed as a direct result of a crime, transportation expenses\nincurred for necessary court appearances in connection with the\nprosecution of such crimes and the unreimbursed cost of counselling\nprovided to the elderly or disabled victim on account of mental or\nemotional stress or financial counselling provided to the elderly or\ndisabled victim on account of financial difficulty resulting from the\nincident in which the crime occurred if such counselling or financial\ncounselling is commenced within one year from the date of the incident.\n 9. Any award made for the cost of repair or replacement of essential\npersonal property, including cash losses of essential personal property,\nshall be limited to an amount of five hundred dollars, except that all\ncash losses of essential personal property shall be limited to the\namount of one hundred dollars. In the case of medically necessary\nlife-sustaining equipment which was lost or damaged as the direct result\nof a crime, the award shall be limited to the amount of ten thousand\ndollars.\n 10. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, an award shall\ninclude reasonable transportation expenses incurred for necessary court\nappearances in connection with the prosecution of such crimes upon which\nthe claim is based.\n 11. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one, two and three\nof this section, an individual who was a victim of either the crime of\nunlawful imprisonment in the first degree as defined in section 135.10\nof the penal law, kidnapping in the second degree as defined in section\n135.20 of the penal law or kidnapping in the first degree as defined in\nsection 135.25 of the penal law who has not been physically injured as a\ndirect result of such crime shall only be eligible for an award that\nincludes loss of earnings or support and the unreimbursed costs of\ncounseling provided to such victim on account of mental or emotional\nstress resulting from the incident in which the crime occurred.\n 12. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one, two and three\nof this section, an individual who was a victim of either the crime of\nmenacing in the second degree as defined in subdivision two or three of\nsection 120.14 of the penal law, menacing in the first degree as defined\nin section 120.13 of the penal law, criminal obstruction of breathing or\nblood circulation as defined in section 121.11 of the penal law,\nharassment in the second degree as defined in subdivision two or three\nof section 240.26 of the penal law, harassment in the first degree as\ndefined in section 240.25 of the penal law, aggravated harassment in the\nsecond degree as defined in subdivision five of section 240.30 of the\npenal law, aggravated harassment in the first degree as defined in\nsubdivision two of section 240.31 of the penal law, criminal contempt in\nthe first degree as defined in paragraph (ii) or (iv) of subdivision (b)\nor subdivision (c) of section 215.51 of the penal law, or stalking in\nthe fourth, third, second or first degree as defined in sections 120.45,\n120.50, 120.55 and 120.60 of the penal law, respectively, who has not\nbeen physically injured as a direct result of such crime shall only be\neligible for an award that includes loss of earning or support, the\nunreimbursed cost of repair or replacement of essential personal\nproperty that has been lost, damaged or destroyed as a direct result of\nsuch crime, the unreimbursed cost for security devices to enhance the\npersonal protection of such victim, transportation expenses incurred for\nnecessary court expenses in connection with the prosecution of such\ncrime, the unreimbursed costs of counseling provided to such victim on\naccount of mental or emotional stress resulting from the incident in\nwhich the crime occurred, reasonable relocation expenses, and for\noccupational or job training.\n 13. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regulation to\nthe contrary, when any New York state accredited hospital, accredited\nsexual assault examiner program, or licensed health care provider\nfurnishes services to any sexual assault survivor, including but not\nlimited to a health care forensic examination in accordance with the sex\noffense evidence collection protocol and standards established by the\ndepartment of health, such hospital, sexual assault examiner program, or\nlicensed healthcare provider shall provide such services to the person\nwithout charge and shall bill the office directly. The office, in\nconsultation with the department of health, shall define the specific\nservices to be covered by the sexual assault forensic exam reimbursement\nfee, which must include at a minimum forensic examiner services,\nhospital or healthcare facility services related to the exam, and\nrelated laboratory tests and necessary pharmaceuticals; including but\nnot limited to HIV post-exposure prophylaxis provided by a hospital\nemergency room at the time of the forensic rape examination pursuant to\nparagraph (c) of subdivision one of section twenty-eight hundred five-i\nof the public health law. Follow-up HIV post-exposure prophylaxis costs\nshall continue to be reimbursed according to established office\nprocedure. The office, in consultation with the department of health,\nshall also generate the necessary regulations and forms for the direct\nreimbursement procedure. The rate for reimbursement shall be the amount\nof itemized charges not exceeding eight hundred dollars, to be reviewed\nand adjusted annually by the office in consultation with the department\nof health. The hospital, sexual assault examiner program, or licensed\nhealth care provider must accept this fee as payment in full for these\nspecified services. No additional billing of the survivor for said\nservices is permissible. A sexual assault survivor may voluntarily\nassign any private insurance benefits to which she or he is entitled for\nthe healthcare forensic examination, in which case the hospital or\nhealthcare provider may not charge the office. A hospital, sexual\nassault examiner program or licensed health care provider shall, at the\ntime of the initial visit, request assignment of any private health\ninsurance benefits to which the sexual assault survivor is entitled on a\nform prescribed by the office; provided, however, such sexual assault\nsurvivor shall be advised orally and in writing that he or she may\ndecline to provide such information regarding private health insurance\nbenefits if he or she believes that the provision of such information\nwould substantially interfere with his or her personal privacy or safety\nand in such event, the sexual assault forensic exam fee shall be paid by\nthe office. Such sexual assault survivor shall also be advised that\nproviding such information may provide additional resources to pay for\nservices to other sexual assault victims. If he or she declines to\nprovide such health insurance information, he or she shall indicate such\ndecision on the form provided by the hospital, sexual assault examiner\nprogram or licensed health care provider, which form shall be prescribed\nby the office.\n 14. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article, where\na victim dies from injuries received as a direct result of the World\nTrade Center terrorist attacks on September eleventh, two thousand one,\nthe office may make an award for the unreimbursed and unreimbursable\nexpense or indebtedness reasonably incurred for the cost of counseling\nfor the eligible spouse, grandparents, parents, stepparents, guardians,\nbrothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters, children, or stepchildren\nof such victim. Any award for such expense incurred on or before\nDecember thirty-first, two thousand seven, shall be made without regard\nto the financial difficulty of the claimant.\n 15. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article, where\na victim is injured as a direct result of the World Trade Center\nterrorist attacks on September eleventh, two thousand one, the office\nmay make an award for the unreimbursed and unreimbursable expense or\nindebtedness reasonably incurred by the claimant for medical care or\ncounseling services necessary as a result of such injury. Any award for\nsuch expense or indebtedness incurred on or before December\nthirty-first, two thousand seven, shall be made without regard to the\nfinancial difficulty of the claimant.\n 16. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article, and\nwithout regard to the financial difficulty of the claimant, where a\nvictim dies from injuries received as a direct result of the World Trade\nCenter terrorist attacks on September eleventh, two thousand one, the\noffice may make an award of reasonable burial expenses for such victim.\n 17. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,\nwhere a child victim has not been physically injured as a direct result\nof a crime, or has witnessed a crime in which no physical injury\noccurred, the claimant shall only be eligible for an award that includes\nthe unreimbursed cost of repair or replacement of essential personal\nproperty of the child victim that has been lost, damaged or destroyed as\na direct result of a crime, transportation expenses incurred by the\nclaimant for necessary court appearances of the child victim in\nconnection with the prosecution of such crimes, and, if counseling is\ncommenced within one year from the date of the incident or its\ndiscovery, (1) the unreimbursed cost of counseling provided to the child\nvictim on account of mental or emotional stress resulting from the\nincident in which the crime occurred, and/or (2) the unreimbursed cost\nof counseling provided to the claimant eligible under paragraph (h) of\nsubdivision one of section six hundred twenty-four of this article and\nresulting from the incident in which the crime occurred.\n 18. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article and\nsubject to any applicable maximum award limitations contained in this\nsection, where a victim has died as a direct result of the crime upon\nwhich the claim is based and the crime occurred in the residence of a\nperson eligible pursuant to paragraph (k) of subdivision one of section\nsix hundred twenty-four of this article, the office may make no more\nthan one award for crime scene clean-up related to such residence.\n