§ 14-2A-10 — Filing of application for compensation award; contents

West Virginia § 14-2A-10

• Jurisdiction: West Virginia
• Ch. 14: CLAIMS DUE AND AGAINST THE STATE
• Art. 2A: COMPENSATION AWARDS TO VICTIMS OF CRIMES

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(a) A claim for an award of compensation shall be commenced by filing an application for an award of compensation with the clerk of the West Virginia Legislative Claims Commission. The application shall be in a form prescribed by the clerk of the West Virginia Legislative Claims Commission and shall contain the information specified in subdivisions (1) through (6) of this subsection and, to the extent possible, the information in subdivisions (7) through (10) of this subsection:

(1) The name and address of the victim of the criminally injurious conduct, the name and address of the claimant and the relationship of the claimant to the victim;

(2) The nature of the criminally injurious conduct that is the basis for the claim and the date on which the conduct occurred;

(3) The law-enforcement agency or officer to whom the criminally injurious conduct was reported and the date on which it was reported;

(4) Whether the claimant is the spouse, parent, child, brother or sister of the offender, or is similarly related to an accomplice of the offender who committed the criminally injurious conduct;

(5) A release authorizing the West Virginia Legislative Claims Commission and the claim investigator to obtain any report, document or information that relates to the determination of the claim for an award of compensation;

(6) If the victim is deceased, the name and address of each dependent of the victim and the extent to which each is dependent upon the victim for care and support;

(7) The nature and extent of the injuries that the victim sustained from the criminally injurious conduct for which compensation is sought, the name and address of any person who gave medical treatment to the victim for the injuries, the name and address of any hospital or similar institution where the victim received medical treatment for the injuries, and whether the victim died as a result of the injuries;

(8) The total amount of the economic loss that the victim, a dependent or the claimant sustained or will sustain as a result of the criminally injurious conduct, without regard to the financial limitation set forth in subsection (g), section fourteen of this article;

(9) The amount of benefits or advantages that the victim, a dependent or other claimant has received or is entitled to receive from any collateral source for economic loss that resulted from the criminally injurious conduct, and the name of each collateral source;

(10) Any additional relevant information that the West Virginia Legislative Claims Commission may require. The West Virginia Legislative Claims Commission may require the claimant to submit, with the application, materials to substantiate the facts that are stated in the application.

(b) All applications for an award of compensation shall be filed within two years after the occurrence of the criminally injurious conduct that is the basis of the application. Any application so filed which contains the information specified in subdivisions (1) through (6), subsection (a) of this section may not be excluded from consideration on the basis of incomplete information specified in subdivisions (7) through (10) of said subsection if such information is completed after reasonable assistance in the completion thereof is provided under procedures established by the West Virginia Legislative Claims Commission.

(c) A person who knowingly and willfully presents or attempts to present a false or fraudulent application, or who knowingly and willfully participates, or assists in the preparation or presentation of a false or fraudulent application, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. A person convicted, in a court of competent jurisdiction, of a violation of this section shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, in the discretion of such court. If the convicted person is a state officer or employee, he or she shall, in addition, forfeit his or her office or position of employment, as the case may be.

Legislative History

2017 Reg. Sess., HB2447; 1985 Reg. Sess., HB2125; 1984 Reg. Sess., HB2070; 1983 Reg. Sess., HB1905; 1981 Reg. Sess., HB857