McCrimmon v. Crime Victims Comp. Comm'n, 465 S.E.2d 28 (N.C. Ct. App. 1995)

Cases | McCrimmon v. Crime Victims Comp. Comm'n, 465 S.E.2d 28 (N.C. Ct. App. 1995) | 2018

The petitioner stole a $20 bill from a convenience store customer. The store’s proprietor shot the petitioner in the back while he fled, paralyzing him from the waist down. The petitioner’s claim for crime victims compensation was denied on the basis that his contributory misconduct barred recovery. The petitioner appealed, claiming that being shot was not a foreseeable result of his theft of the customer’s money. The appellate court held that the compensation commission did not err in either concluding that the petitioner’s actions constituted contributory misconduct or barring his claim for recovery of benefits. The petitioner’s stealing of twenty dollars from an unsuspecting store patron constituted misconduct. Considering the circumstances, only a thief lacking the most basic ordinary prudence would not reasonably foresee that consequences of a generally injurious nature were probable under all of the facts as they existed.