§ 296.30 - Establishing injuries and damages.

§ 296.30 Establishing injuries and damages.

(a) Burden of proof. The burden of proving injuries and damages rests with the claimant. A claimant may submit for the Administrative Record a statement explaining why the claimant believes that the injuries and damages are compensable and any documentary evidence supporting the claim. Claimants will provide documentation, which is reasonably available, including photographs and video, to corroborate the nature, extent, and value of their injuries and/or to execute affidavits in a form established by the Claims Office. FEMA may compensate a claimant for an injury in the absence of supporting documentation, in its discretion, on the strength of an affidavit or Proof of Loss executed by the claimant, if documentary evidence substantiating the injury is not reasonably available. FEMA may also require an inspection of real property. FEMA may request that a business claimant execute an affidavit, which states that the claimant will provide documentary evidence, including but not limited to income tax returns, if requested by the DHS Office of the Inspector General or the Government Accountability Office during an audit of the claim.

(b) Proof of Loss. All claimants are required to attest to the nature and extent of each injury for which compensation is sought in the Proof of Loss. The Proof of Loss, which will be in a form specified by the Claims Office, must be signed by the claimant or the claimant's legal representative if the claimant is not an individual or is an individual who lacks the legal capacity to execute the Proof of Loss. The Proof of Loss must be signed under penalty of perjury. Non-subrogation claimants should submit a signed Proof of Loss to the Claims Office not later than 150 days after the date when the Notice of Loss was submitted. This deadline may be extended at the discretion of the Director of the Claims Office for good cause. If a non-subrogation claimant fails to submit a signed Proof of Loss within the timeframes set forth in this section and does not obtain an extension from the Director of the Claims Office, the Claims Office may administratively close the claim and require the claimant to repay any partial payments made on the claim. Subrogation claimants will submit the Proof of Loss contemporaneously with filing the Notice of Loss.

(c) Release and Certification Form. All claimants who receive compensation under the Act are required to sign a Release and Certification Form, including for partial payments under § 296.33. The Release and Certification Form must be executed by the claimant or the claimant's legal representative if the claimant is an entity or lacks the legal capacity to execute the Release and Certification Form. A Release and Certification Form must be received by the Claims Office before the Claims Office provides payment on the claim. The United States will not attempt to recover compensatory damages paid to a claimant who has executed and returned a Release and Certification Form within the periods provided above, except in the case of fraud or misrepresentation by the claimant or the claimant's representative, failure of the claimant to cooperate with an audit as required by § 296.36 or a material mistake by FEMA.

(d) Authority to settle or compromise claims. Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the Director of the Claims Office may extend an offer to settle or compromise a claim or any portion of a claim at any time during the process outlined in this part, which if accepted by the claimant will be binding on the claimant and on the United States, except that the United States may recover funds improperly paid to a claimant due to fraud or misrepresentation on the part of the claimant or the claimant's representative, a material mistake on FEMA's part or the claimant's failure to cooperate in an audit as required by § 296.36.