N.Y. Executive Law § 627: Determination of claims

§ 627. Determination of claims. 1. The office shall determine claims

in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the director.

Such rules and regulations must provide for:

(a) written notification to an applying victim of their right to

representation by counsel, as well as their potential eligibility for an

award of attorney's fees pursuant to subdivision one of section six

hundred twenty-six of this article;

(b) administrative procedures regarding the intake and initial

processing of claims, including mandatory timelines for the initiation

of investigation of a properly filed claim;

(c) the investigation and determination of claims regardless of

whether the alleged criminal has been arrested, charged, apprehended or

prosecuted for or convicted of any crime based upon the same incident,

or has been acquitted, or found not guilty of the crime in question

owing to criminal irresponsibility or other legal exemption;

(d) the rebuttable presumption that a child reported missing for a

time period exceeding seven days is a victim of a crime;

(e) the generation of a written decision for each properly filed

claim, and written notice to the claimant of the written decision and

their right to a copy of such a decision, as well as any rights to

appeal that the claimant may have of the decision and a projected date

of payment in the case of an award to the claimant;

(f) expedited determination of claims with respect to a livery

operator within thirty days of the date upon which the claim was

accepted for filing, as well as standards for awards of loss of earnings

or support granted pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated in

accordance with the provisions of this subdivision and subdivision three

of section six hundred thirty-one of this article. Each award for loss

of earnings pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated in accordance

with this subdivision made with respect to a claim involving a livery

operator assault victim shall be for such period of time as the office

determines that the livery operator assault victim is unable to work and

has lost earnings as a result of such assault, in an amount not to

exceed twenty thousand dollars. Such award shall be distributed in

increments of five hundred dollars per week. Each award for loss of

support pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated in accordance with

this subdivision made with respect to a claim involving a livery

operator homicide victim shall be in the amount of twenty thousand

dollars, distributed in increments of five hundred dollars per week; and

(g) provisions for any claimant to submit an additional claim for any

loss of earnings or support in excess of the amount awarded pursuant to

rules and regulations in accordance with paragraph (f) of this

subdivision, or an additional claim for any other award pursuant to

rules and regulations promulgated in accordance with this article, in

each case pursuant to and in accordance with the other provisions of

this article or any rules and regulations promulgated in accordance

thereof and subject to any applicable maximum award limitations

contained in this article.

2. The claimant may, within thirty days after receipt of the decision

of the office regarding a claim, make an application in writing to the

director of the office for reconsideration of such decision. The

director, or his or her designee, shall consider such applications in

accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the director and

may affirm or modify the decision. The decision of the director, or his

or her designee, shall become the final determination of the office

regarding the claim.