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Legal Information: Alaska

Statutes: Alaska

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Updated: 
August 8, 2023

Sec.18.67.080. Awarding compensation

(a) In a case in which a person is injured or killed by an incident specified in AS 18.67.101(1), or by the act of any other person that is within the description of offenses listed in AS 18.67.101(2), the board may order the payment of compensation in accordance with the provisions of this chapter:

(1) to or for the benefit of the injured person;

(2) in the case of personal injury or death of the victim, to a person responsible or who had been responsible for the maintenance of the victim who has suffered pecuniary loss or incurred expenses as a result of the injury or death;

(3) in the case of death of the victim, to or for the benefit of one or more of the dependents of the victim; or

(4) to the provider of a service under AS 18.67.110(b).

(b) For the purposes of this chapter, a person is considered to have intended an act notwithstanding that by reason of age, insanity, drunkenness, or otherwise, the person was legally incapable of forming a criminal intent.

(c) In determining whether to make an order under this section, the board shall consider all circumstances determined to be relevant, including provocation, consent, or any other behavior of the victim that directly or indirectly contributed to the victim’s injury or death, the prior case or social history, if any, of the victim, the victim’s need for financial aid, and any other relevant matters. In applying this subsection,

(1) the board may not deny an order based on the factors in this subsection, unless those factors relate significantly to the occurrence that caused the victimization and are of such a nature and quality that a reasonable or prudent person would know that the factors or actions could lead to the crime and the victimization;

(2) with regard to circumstances in which the victim consented to, provoked, or incited the criminal act, the board may consider those circumstances only if the board finds that it is more probable than not that those circumstances occurred and were the cause of the crime and the victimization;

(3) the board may deny an order based on the victim’s involvement with illegal drugs, only if

(A) the victim was involved in the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance at the time of the crime or the crime and victimization was a direct result of the prior manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance; the evidence of this manufacture or delivery must be corroborated by law enforcement or other credible sources; and

(B) the evidence shows a direct correlation linking the illegal activity and the crime and victimization; or

(4) if a claim is based on a crime involving domestic violence or on a crime of sexual abuse of a minor or sexual assault and the offender is

(A) convicted of one of those crimes, notwithstanding (1)–(3) of this subsection, the board may not deny an order based on considerations of provocation, the use of alcohol or drugs by the victim, or the prior social history of the victim; or

(B) not convicted of one of those crimes, the board may not deny an order based on the involvement or behavior of the victim.

(d) An order may be made under this section whether or not a person is prosecuted or convicted of an offense arising out of the act that caused the injury or death involved in the application. Upon application made by an appropriate prosecuting authority, the board may suspend proceedings under this chapter for a period it considers appropriate on the ground that a prosecution for an offense arising out of the act that caused the injury or death involved in the application has been commenced or is imminent.