Q: Can I be compensated for losses I have suffered as a victim?

Your insurance may provide coverage for personal injury or property loss due to a crime. If so, you will need to reimburse your insurance company if you eventually receive restitution through the criminal case.

If the judge places a defendant on probation, the court can order him to pay restitution to the victim as a condition of probation. The court does not always order restitution and sometimes it cannot be collected.

The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will make every effort to see that restitution is ordered if a defendant is placed on probation.

Unfortunately, if a defendant is sentenced to prison or jail and is not placed on probation, the judge in the criminal case cannot order restitution as a part of the criminal prosecution.

The Crime Victim Compensation Unit of the Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation can provide monetary compensation to victims of violent crime. Our office will help you fill out the appropriate forms.

Also, the Department of Social Services often provides compensation to rape victims for uninsured costs of hospital rape examinations.

Finally, you may want to talk with a private attorney about the possibility of representing you in a civil suit against the defendant. As the O. J. Simpson case demonstrated, a civil suit can sometimes be even more successful than a criminal prosecution.