§ 29-13-107 — Standards for determining amount of compensation - Uniform application of chapter

For purposes of determining the amount of compensation to be awarded under § 29-13-106 , the following standards shall be utilized in order to ensure the uniform application of this chapter: (1) Any award made for permanent partial or permanent total disabilities proximately caused by a violent crime is to be based upon those schedules of compensation allowable by the workers' compensation statutes, found in § 50-6-207 , in effect at the time of the commission of the act giving rise to such claim, for disabilities of a similar nature; provided, however, that the sixty-six and two-thirds percent (662/3%) rate prescribed in the workers' compensation statutes shall not be used in determining the amount of any award hereunder. Instead, such rate shall be eighty-five percent (85%) of the claimant's average weekly wage. Any award made for lost wages proximately caused by a violent crime is to be based upon those schedules of compensation for temporary total disability allowable by the workers' compensation statutes, found in § 50-6-207 , in effect at the time of the commission of the crime giving rise to such claim; provided, however, that the sixty-six and two-thirds percent (662/3%) rate prescribed in the workers' compensation statutes shall not be used in determining the amount of any award hereunder. Instead, such rate shall be eighty-five percent (85%) of the claimant's average weekly wage. The board of claims is authorized to adopt such other standard as is required by federal law or regulation in order to qualify for matching federal funds under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 ( 42 U.S.C. § 10601 et seq.), if the board of claims determines that the federally required standard is both reasonable and in the financial interest of the criminal injuries program; (2) Excepting claims for disabilities, death, or pain and suffering where the commission of a sexually-oriented crime is involved, awards are to be payable only for those pecuniary losses actually and reasonably incurred as the result of personal injuries received through the commission of a violent crime; (3) Any award based on the pain and suffering experienced by a claimant victimized by a sexually-oriented crime is to be made in an amount deemed necessary and appropriate, not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000), taking into account the particular circumstances involved in such crime; (4) Any award made for funeral and burial expenses shall not exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000); (5) Any award made for expenses under § 29-13-106(a)(4) shall not exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000); (6) Any award made for mental health counseling or treatment pursuant to § 29-13-105(a)(3), (a)(6) or (a)(7) shall be made in an amount deemed necessary and appropriate, not to exceed three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500); and (7) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (6), any award made for medical or medical-related expenses, including, but not limited to, dental, chiropractic, hospital, physical therapy and nursing services, shall be made in an amount of seventy-five percent (75%) of the billed charges if there exists a sufficient amount left in the maximum award rate stipulated in § 29-13-106(e) . If an insufficient amount exists in the maximum award rate to pay seventy-five percent (75%) of the billed charges, the billed charges shall be reduced to the amount remaining to bring the total compensation awarded on account of the criminal act to the maximum rate specified in § 29-13-106(e) . Any medical provider or hospital that accepts payment under this part for medical or medical-related expenses or services shall accept the payment as payment in full and shall not bill any balance of those expenses to the victim or the claimant if the total payments made under this part to any such provider or hospital equal seventy-five percent (75%) of the billed charges. This subdivision (7) does not prohibit the medical provider or hospital from seeking reimbursement from the victim or the claimant for the difference, if any, between seventy-five percent (75%) of the billed charges and the amount paid by the division under this subdivision (7). This subdivision (7) does not apply to reimbursements for forensic medical examinations provided under § 29-13-118 . Reimbursements for forensic medical examinations are governed by § 29-13-118 .

Legislative History

Acts 1976, ch. 736, § 7; 1979, ch. 331, § 2; impl. am. Acts 1980, ch. 534, § 1; T.C.A., §§ 23-3507, 23-35-107; Acts 1981, ch. 163, § 5; 1984, ch. 752, § 2; 1985, ch. 278, § 5; 1986, ch. 834, § 3; 1986, ch. 911, § 3; 1988, ch. 776, § 4; 1989, ch. 129, § 10; 1990, ch. 755, §§ 9, 10; 1999, ch. 271, §§ 4 - 6; 2002, ch. 869, §§ 10, 11; 2004, ch. 918, § 4; 2008 , ch. 1043, § 4.