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Crime Victim Compensation

• What is the Crime Victim Compensation Fund?
  The Michigan Crime Victim Compensation Fund was established to provide financial help to crime victims who suffer personal injury (bodily harm) or loss of earnings or support because of the crime.
• Am I a "crime victim"?
  The Crime Victim Services Commission will consider you to be a "crime victim" if:

  • you suffered personal physical injury as the direct result of a crime in Michigan,
  • you suffered personal physical injury while trying to help a crime victim,
  • you are a surviving spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, brother or sister of a person who died as a direct result of a crime,
  • you are a Michigan resident who was injured by crime committed in another state, when that other state does not have a victim compensation program available, or
  • you are a Michigan resident who was injured outside the U.S.A. by an act of international terrorism.
• What compensation may be awarded?
  Compensation to crime victims is limited in many ways, including:

  • $25,000 is the maximum payment per claim
  • maximum funeral payment is $5,000 --- including up to $500 in grief counseling for the spouse, children, parents or siblings of the person who died
  • up to $350 for each week of lost earnings or support (in the case of a death)
  • 35 hours of psychological counseling for the injured person, at up to $80/hour for a licensed therapist or up to $125/hour for a licensed psychologist or physician
  • losses resulting from an injury or death are awarded only if a person has no insurance or public assistance available
  • a maximum of $500 for crime scene clean-up, if the crime scene is located at the residence of the victim or a person eligible for an award

  The actual amount of compensation, if any, depends upon the facts of each case. Do not try to decide for yourself whether you are eligible. If you have any doubt, file a claim and the Commission will decide.
• What losses are not covered?
  • personal property loss or damage
  • pain and suffering
  • relocation costs, living expenses or the costs of participating in a trial
  • lost earnings by an injured person's family members
  • injuries received while confined in a correctional facility

  NOTE: These losses might be recoverable through court-ordered restitution as part of a convicted perpetrator's criminal sentence, or through the enforcement of a judgment obtained in a civil lawsuit against the wrongdoer.
• What conditions apply to the Crime Victim Compensation Fund?
  • the crime must have been reported to the police within 48 hours after injury unless there was a good reason for a delay or the injured person is a child;
  • the crime victim must be willing to cooperate with the police and prosecutor;
  • the crime victim must not have caused the injury or been doing something illegal or dangerous at the time of the injury;
  • the person filing the claim cannot be criminally responsible for the crime, be an accomplice, or have contributed to the infliction of the injury;
  • the person filing the claim cannot be an inmate;
  • the crime victim must have a minimum $200 out-of-pocket medical expense and/or a loss of two continuous weeks of earnings or support;
  • the compensation claim must be filed within 1 year of the crime or 1 year of the victim's death (although other time limits apply when a child is a victim of sexual abuse, or when a crime is discovered by a law enforcement agency where the injury was previously determined to be accidental, of unknown origin, or from natural causes);
  • a deceased victim's immediate family member may file a claim in the victim's place;
  • expenses or losses that are covered by personal insurance or that can be paid by another source will not be covered;
  • compensation is limited to medical expenses, funeral costs, counseling, rehabilitation, and loss of earnings or loss of support resulting from an injury which is the direct result of a crime.
• How do I file a claim?
  Obtain and completely fill out an application form. Forms are available from the Crime Victim Services Commission, our office, police or sheriff's departments, and victim assistance agencies. Your claim must be filed with the Commission not later than 1 year after the occurrence of the crime. You can download and print the application here; it must be filled out by hand. File the claim by mailing it to:
  
  Crime Victim Services Commission
  320 South Walnut
  Lansing, MI 48913
  (517) 373-7373
• What do I send?
  • a fully completed application;
  • itemized copies of all bills you want to claim. If you need further medical treatment, see if your doctor can give you a written estimate of future expenses;
  • copies of insurance or Medicare benefit statements for all expenses;
  • for lost earnings, copies of recent payroll check stubs and disability statements from your doctor;
  • for burial assistance, a copy of the signed itemized funeral bill;
  • for counseling, ask your therapist for an assessment, treatment plan and itemized bill or estimate;
  • for loss of support, send check stubs or the last tax return of the person who died, and the survivor's social security benefit and life insurance statements.
• What happens after a claim is filed?

  Your application will be reviewed by Commission staff. An incomplete form will be returned to you with a list of the information or additional paperwork that is needed. You have 30 days to respond or send in additional information. If you don’t respond within 30 days your claim will be closed and you will not be eligible to reapply.

  Your claim is assigned a claim number. The Commission will notify the Prosecuting Attorney that a claim for compensation is pending. A claim specialist will conduct an investigation to verify the validity of the claim and the extent of any ompensable loss. The claimant may be requested to provide documentation if the Commission is otherwise unable to verify the claim.

• How long does it take for my claim to be reviewed?
  This depends on the accuracy and completeness of your application, and how long it takes to get additional information the Commission needs to investigate. You will be notified in writing with the record and findings of your claim. If it is approved, the decision will show itemized payments, which will be made within a few days; if you owe money to your medical providers, the Commission will pay the providers.
• If my claim is denied, can I appeal?
  If your claim is denied, the Commission will notify you in writing, and the legal reasons will be explained. If you are dissatisfied, you have 30 days to appeal the individual Commission member's decision to the full Crime Victim Services Commission. You may request an evidentiary hearing. The decision of the full Commission is final. If still dissatisfied, you may file a request for leave to appeal with the Court of Appeals within 30 days after the Crime Victim Services Commission's final decision.