You have the opportunity to apply for compensation for loss of earning capacity if, due to a criminal offense, you are unable to return to work to the same extent as before the offense. Compensation for loss of earning capacity can be assessed once the municipality has made a decision. For example, this may occur if the municipality determines that you should be granted a flexible job or early retirement.
If it is likely that you have a permanent loss of earning capacity due to the criminal offense, the board may refer the case to either the Danish Patient Compensation or the Labour Market Insurance, which will assist the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board by providing an advisory opinion on the extent of your potential loss of earning capacity.
Example: If you were a victim of a criminal offense in 2020 and are seeking compensation for loss of earning capacity in 2021, the board will use your annual income statements for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
The rule is found in section 5 of the Liability and Compensation Act.
If the criminal offense is also a work-related injury:
If you were a victim of a criminal offense in connection with your work, you will have the opportunity to apply for compensation from both the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and the insurance company that covers the employer's mandatory workers' compensation insurance.
Compensation and benefits from the workers' compensation insurance take precedence over the compensation you can apply for from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. This means that you must first apply for compensation through the workers' compensation insurance. This applies, for example, to compensation for loss of earning capacity. Compensation for a work-related injury is calculated according to the rules in the Workers' Compensation Act.
Compensation for loss of earning capacity under the Workers' Compensation Act is calculated differently than under the Liability and Compensation Act, which is the legal framework followed by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Therefore, there may be cases where the compensation under one framework is greater than under the other. If the compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act is lower than what you would have received under the Liability and Compensation Act, you have the option to apply for compensation for the difference between the two frameworks.
You can only apply for compensation for the difference once the Labour Market Insurance has made a final decision regarding your loss of earning capacity.
Example: Due to a criminal offense related to your work, you have sustained such severe impairments that you can no longer work as you did before the offense. The work injury is reported to the Labour Market Insurance, which assesses your loss of earning capacity as 20% and determines that, under the Workers' Compensation Act, you are entitled to a total compensation of 1,000,000 DKK. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board calculates the loss of earning capacity compensation under the Liability and Compensation Act and concludes that you are entitled to 1,200,000 DKK due to the criminal offense. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board can then award you the difference, which is 200,000 DKK.
The rules are found in section 7 of the State Compensation to Victims of Crime Act and section 5 of the Liability and Compensation Act.