OAR 137-076-0025
Lost Earnings and Loss of Support Compensation
(1)
A victim is eligible for loss of earnings when:(a)
The victim is eligible to receive compensation under ORS 147.005 (Definitions) to 147.367 (Services to victims of acts of mass destruction);(b)
The victim was gainfully employed or receiving unemployment benefits at the time of the criminal injury; and(c)
The victim is prevented from working as a direct result of the criminal injury.(2)
Compensation for lost earnings under ORS 147.035 (Compensable losses)(2)(b) shall be computed on the basis of the victim’s documented net earnings on the date of the compensable injury. If the Department is unable to document net earnings but can document gross earnings, the Department may use 70% of the victim’s documented gross earnings to compute net lost earnings compensation. Possible future earnings may not be considered as a basis for lost earnings compensation.(a)
Compensation for lost earnings may be paid for subsequent crime-related periods of disability. The lost earnings compensation amount for subsequent periods of disability shall be recalculated to reflect the victim’s present net earnings at the time of the subsequent period of disability, and shall be paid accordingly;(b)
Lost earnings compensation for periods of disability in excess of 10 working days may be paid only if the period of disability is confirmed by a medical practitioner;(c)
If a victim was not working at the time of the criminal incident but has a history of annual earnings through periodic work such as seasonal work, contracting, or temporary assignments, the victim may still be eligible for lost earnings compensation if the Department receives proper documentation to support the net earnings. For this purpose, the applicant must provide the Department with either W-2 forms or a complete federal income tax return with all schedules that reflects the victim’s earnings for the preceding twelve month period. This documentation shall be used by the Department to determine the victim’s annual income and provide a basis for calculating the disability period, if applicable. If a victim is self-employed, the Department may require additional documentation to verify the loss of earnings;(d)
Where a replacement is hired to fulfill the duties of an injured victim and the cost of this replacement person is a direct financial cost to the victim, the Department may use the documented replacement cost as the basis for calculating lost earnings compensation;(e)
Under no circumstances may lost earnings compensation exceed the weekly or aggregate per-claim maximum amounts set forth in ORS 147.035 (Compensable losses)(2)(b).(3)
A victim’s dependents are eligible for loss of support when:(a)
The victim’s dependents are eligible to receive compensation under ORS 147.005 (Definitions) to 147.367 (Services to victims of acts of mass destruction) and OAR 137-076-0025 (Lost Earnings and Loss of Support Compensation)(4);(b)
The victim was gainfully employed or receiving unemployment benefits at the time of the criminal injury; and(c)
The victim is deceased as a result of the criminal injury.(4)
The amount of compensation for loss of support shall be based on the deceased victim’s documented net earnings at the time of death. If the Department is unable to document net earnings but can document gross earnings, the Department may use 70% of the deceased victim’s documented gross earnings to compute net loss of support compensation.(a)
Under no circumstances may loss of support compensation exceed the weekly or aggregate per-claim maximum amounts set forth in ORS 147.035 (Compensable losses)(3)(c);(b)
Compensation for loss of support may include documented loss of child support, if applicable. Loss of child support is calculated based on the amount of child support received by the child from the victim at the time of the victim’s death;(c)
Loss of support compensation may be paid to documented dependent children until the age of 18, or until the age of 21 if the dependent child is a full time college student. If the documented dependent child is a minor, payment shall be made to the child’s legal guardian. If the documented dependent child is adopted following the death of the victim, loss of support compensation shall end upon the date of adoption;(d)
Loss of support compensation may also be paid to a dependent spouse of a deceased victim until remarriage, and any relative of the deceased victim who is a financial dependent of the deceased victim at the time of the death of the victim;(e)
Where a deceased victim and a surviving spouse both have income at the time of the criminal incident that caused the victim’s death, the independent income of the deceased victim shall be used to determine loss of support compensation for the deceased victim’s surviving dependents, including a surviving dependent spouse, regardless of the surviving dependent spouse’s income.
Source:
Rule 137-076-0025 — Lost Earnings and Loss of Support Compensation, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=137-076-0025.