LOSSES THAT MAY BE ORDERED AS RESTITUTION

The District Attorney’s Office has Restitution Advocates available to help victims determine what can and cannot be claimed as restitution. In general, losses that may be claimed as restitution include, but are not limited to:

any monetary loss suffered by a victim that can be reasonably calculated
medical bills
counseling expenses
all out-of-pocket expenses
interest
anticipated future expenses
rewards paid by victims

Further details on costs that may be eligible for restitution include:

Cost of medical, dental, and/or mental health treatment needed because of the crime.

Bills or receipts are the preferred proof of treatment costs. Ongoing treatment should be noted on the victim impact statement.

· If bills are currently due, attach copies marked “due” or “owed”.

· Victims with medical insurance covering some of the costs should include an Explanation of Benefits, or an ID number, name and phone number of the insurance carrier.

Cost to repair damaged property because of the crime

o Attach receipts or some other proof of payment to the Victim Impact Statement detailing damage repaired as a direct result of the crime.

Market value of stolen goods at the time of the crime

o Damaged or missing property must be given a value to request restitution. Since victims may not have original receipts showing the cost of stolen or damaged property, the following methods can be used to establish current values.

o Check store advertisements, the internet or newspaper advertisements that reflect the value of property damaged or stolen.

Attach copies of the information to support the property values to the Victim Impact Statement and send it to the District Attorney’s Office.

Insurance deductibles – your insurance company may also be considered a victim

By law the court may order restitution to repay a deductible AS WELL AS to order an offender to repay the insurance carrier.

Victims should provide the insurance company name, phone number and the claim number (if available) in Section 3 of the Victim Impact Statement.

Lost Wages

Victims may request lost wages as part of the restitution order; however, proof of loss as well as the reason for loss must be substantiated.

The victim should send a copy of a payroll check stub to verify hourly rate of pay, along with an explanation for lost work because of the crime.
If work was missed because of injury as a result of the crime, include a doctor’s letter or note, confirming the number of days incapacitated because of the crime.
Those victims who are self-employed, should contact their Restitution Advocate for further help in providing proof of pay rate.
If were paid sick or vacation time for the lost wages, please contact your Restitution Advocate for further help.
Block out personal information (i.e. Social Security Number, address, etc.) that you do not wish the offender to see. By law, the offender will receive copies of attachments to the Victim Impact Statement.

Other direct expenses, including actual costs of ongoing medical or mental health treatment

There are many out of pocket expenses you may seek as restitution, the above items are the most often reported. The law includes all costs that are “proximate” to the crime, so please contact your Restitution Advocate if you are unsure whether a particular loss can be part of restitution.

Please update your Restitution Advocate about any changes to your loss during the prosecution (additions, reductions-property was returned to you, or defendant paid you directly, etc.) This way, we can give the court the most complete loss figure available at sentencing.

LOSSES THAT MAY BE ORDERED AS RESTITUTION

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