Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 940 CMR - OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL › Title 940 CMR 14.00 - Compensation Of Victims Of Violent Crimes › Section 14.07 - Limitations on Compensation

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Contribution
. To the extent the victim's acts or
			 conduct provoked or contributed to the victim's injuries, the Division shall
			 reduce or deny the award to the claimant or claimants.
(a)
Definition of Contributory
			 Conduct
. Contributory conduct is intentional conduct, willingly
			 and knowingly engaged in by the victim, that is both a direct cause, and a
			 proximate cause, of the victim's injuries.
(b) Circumstances that, in general, do not
			 warrant the denial or reduction of an award based on contributory conduct
			 include:
1. acts of negligence or poor
			 judgment such as entering a motor vehicle operated by an intoxicated
			 person;
2. crimes in which the
			 victim is a victim of sexual assault;
3. acts of self defense or defense of
			 others;
4. acts attributable to
			 reasonable efforts by the victim to aid a crime victim, to prevent a crime from
			 occurring in his presence, or to apprehend a person who has committed a crime
			 in his or her presence.
(c) Circumstances that may warrant a
			 reduction or denial of an award based on contributory conduct include:
1. crimes in which the victim deliberately
			 provoked the offender by means of fighting words, racial or other
			 bias-motivated taunting, or by threats coupled with overt actions indicating
			 the victim's intent to carry out the threat;
2. crimes in which the victim initiated or
			 significantly escalated a physical altercation with the offender;
3. crimes constituting acts of retaliation or
			 retribution for a crime or crimes previously committed by the victim;
4. crimes in which the victim acted as an
			 accomplice to the offender;
5.
			 crimes committed during the course of an illegal drug transaction in which the
			 victim was a knowing and willing participant;
6. crimes in which the victim's felony
			 criminal record, coupled with the circumstances of the crime, lead to the
			 reasonable inference that the crime for which the claimant seeks compensation
			 was directly caused or provoked by the victim's criminal history.
(d) If the Division finds that a
			 victim knowingly and willingly engaged in intentional conduct that was a direct
			 cause of his or her injuries, the Division shall determine the proximate cause
			 of the victim's injuries and may deny, reduce or allow the award as follows:
1. if it was reasonably foreseeable that the
			 victim's contributory actions would result in injuries of the type and nature
			 he or she sustained, the claim shall be denied (
e.g.
an
			 implicit or explicit agreement to fight, in which a physical altercation ensued
			 resulting in mutual injuries).
2.
			 if it was reasonably foreseeable that the victim's contributory conduct would
			 result in injuries to the victim, but it was not reasonably foreseeable that
			 his or she actions would result in injuries of the nature and type sustained by
			 the victim, the award may be reduced by 50% (
e.g.
victim was
			 stabbed or shot in response to punching the offender).
3. if the victim's injuries were not
			 reasonably foreseeable, the award shall not be reduced or denied even though
			 the victim's actions were an actual and direct cause of his or her injuries
			 (
e.g.
victim was stabbed or shot in response to verbal
			 provocation of the offender).