Helping Crime Victims Recover Compensation for their Losses
Crime victims in Pennsylvania have a right to seek compensation for their losses from the person responsible from harming them.


March 12, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Helping Crime Victims Recover Compensation for their Losses

Victims of crime often feel left out of the criminal process. All of the major decisions, including whether to even file criminal charges, are made by someone else. It is not uncommon for victims to feel like spectators waiting on the sidelines.

Seeking compensation for their injuries is one of the ways that crime victims can assert their rights against those who have harmed them. Two of the most common ways to do this is by submitting a request for restitution or by filing a civil claim.

Victims' Rights to Restitution

When a person commits a crime against another, the judge may order the criminal defendant to compensate the victim for his or her losses as part of the criminal's sentence. This compensation is known as restitution. In Pennsylvania, victims are entitled to restitution for any expenses they incurred as a direct result of the crime.

Some of the losses that may be compensated through restitution include:
-Medical and dental expenses
-Lost wages
-Counseling and rehabilitation
-Insurance deductibles and co-payments
-Replacement/repair expenses for lost, stolen or damaged property

Restitution only can be sought for actual, out-of-pocket expenses, otherwise referred to as "economic" losses. Non-economic damages, like those for pain and suffering, are not compensable through restitution. Additionally, any losses that have been recovered from another source, such as under an insurance policy or in the form of workers' compensation benefits, also are not compensable through restitution.

In order to receive restitution, the victim must submit a request for the compensation before the criminal has been sentenced. Restitution only is available in cases where the criminal is found guilty of committing the crime. If the person responsible for harming the victim is not charged with a crime or subsequently is found innocent, then the victim cannot request restitution for his or her losses.

Like most other states, judges in Pennsylvania have the discretion to award or deny a restitution request. If the judge awards restitution, the judge also has the power to determine the appropriate amount that must be paid by the criminal defendant. For these reasons, it is in the victim's best interest to keep detailed records, including receipts and estimates, of all of the losses they have incurred as a result of the crime.

Seeking Damages through a Civil Claim

In addition to seeking restitution, crime victims also have the right to file a civil claim against the person responsible for harming them. Victims may file a civil claim regardless of whether the criminal trial has concluded or whether the victim was rewarded restitution, so long as the victim has losses that have not yet been compensated. Possibly more importantly, civil claims can be filed regardless of whether the person responsible for harming the victim is ever charged with committing a crime.

For several reasons, filing a civil claim has become a popular way for victims of crimes to seek compensation for their injuries, particularly victims of sexual assault.

First, crime victims have much more control over the civil claims process than they do over the criminal process. For example, the victim decides whether to pursue legal action against the defendant. The victim also has the power to decide whether to accept a settlement offer from the criminal or to continue the lawsuit.

Second, unlike in restitution claims, victims are not limited only to pursuing economic losses in a civil lawsuit. In addition to seeking compensation for actual losses, like medical expenses and lost wages, victims also may seek compensation for non-economic losses including pain and suffering and mental anguish.

Finally, in a civil claim, the victim also has the right to name additional parties other than the criminal defendant in the lawsuit. In some cases, third parties may share responsibility for the harm caused to the plaintiff. For example, if the victim was injured in a bar brawl, the bar owner may be partially to blame for not preventing foreseeable harm to the victim. Or if the victim was sexually assaulted at an apartment complex, then the landlord or property owner may share some fault for the injury.

Conclusion

You have a limited amount of time to exercise your rights to compensation as a victim of a crime. In cases of restitution, you have to request restitution before the judge sentences the criminal defendant. In cases of civil claims, you have two years from the date of injury to file the lawsuit.

For more information on your rights to restitution or to learn more about your options for filing a civil claim, contact an experienced attorney today.

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