Cases | Jerome v. Crime Victims Compensation Bd., 350 N.W.2d 239 (Mich. 1984) | 2018
The plaintiff filed for crime victims compensation after his wife’s murder. The board awarded him ambulance and funeral expenses. The plaintiff appealed denial of his claim for child care and housekeeping expenses. The Crime Victims Compensation Board affirmed its decision and the appellate court affirmed the board’s decision. The plaintiff applied to the supreme court for leave to appeal, claiming that the expenses were reimbursable as out-of-pocket loss or, in the alternative, as loss of support. The supreme court found that the board’s interpretation of the “other services” language of Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 18.351 did not refer to future expenses such as child care and housekeeping services. However, because as a direct result of the crime he was required to expend money on child care and housekeeping that had otherwise been available for other family needs, the supreme court found the plaintiff’s expenditures were related to a “loss of support” and, therefore, reimbursable. Accordingly, the court vacated the appellate court’s judgment and the board’s order and remanded the case to the board for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.