§ 626 — Out-of-pocket loss; definition

§ 626. Out-of-pocket loss; definition. 1. Out-of-pocket loss shall\nmean unreimbursed and unreimbursable expenses or indebtedness reasonably\nincurred for medical care or other services necessary as a result of the\ninjury upon which such claim is based, including such expenses incurred\nas a result of the exacerbation of a pre-existing disability or\ncondition directly resulting from the crime or causally related to the\ncrime. Such expenses or indebtedness shall include the cost of\ncounseling for the eligible spouse, domestic partner, grandparents,\nparents, stepparents, guardians, brothers, sisters, stepbrothers,\nstepsisters, children, stepchildren or grandchildren of a homicide\nvictim, and crime victims who have sustained a personal physical injury\nas the direct result of a crime and the spouse, children or stepchildren\nof such physically injured victim. For the purposes of this subdivision,\nthe victim of a sex offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of\nthe penal law is presumed to have suffered physical injury. Such\ncounseling may be provided by local victim service programs, where\navailable. It shall also include the cost of residing at or utilizing\nservices provided by shelters for battered spouses and children who are\neligible pursuant to subdivision two of section six hundred twenty-four\nof this article, and the cost of reasonable attorneys' fees for\nrepresentation before the office and/or before the appellate division\nupon judicial review not to exceed one thousand dollars.\n 2. Out-of-pocket loss shall also include the cost of counseling for a\nchild victim and the parent, stepparent, grandparent, guardian, brother,\nsister, stepbrother or stepsister of such victim, pursuant to\nregulations promulgated to carry out the provisions and purposes of this\narticle.\n 3. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article, and\nwithout regard to the financial difficulty of the claimant,\nout-of-pocket loss also shall include the cost of unreimbursed and\nunreimbursable counseling expense or indebtedness reasonably incurred by\nrelief workers who worked at the World Trade Center site in the\nimmediate aftermath of the September eleventh, two thousand one\nterrorist attacks, or incurred by individuals who personally witnessed\nsuch attacks, where such counseling expense or indebtedness is incurred\nas a direct result of such work or of the witnessing of such attacks,\nand is incurred on or before December thirty-first, two thousand seven.\n