Compensation and Justice for Sexual Assault Victims

The estimated lifetime cost of a sexual assault, mostly lost wages and medical bills, is over $100,000. The lifetime pain and suffering these incidents cause is almost incalculable. Victims need and deserve compensation for these losses. They also need and deserve justice for their injuries, a justice that criminal courts often cannot provide.

A Columbia personal injury lawyer, in contrast, obtains compensation and justice in civil court. Normally, these claims settle out of court, and on victim-friendly terms, even if the sexual assault occurred years ago, or even decades ago. These settlements avoid emotional courtroom showdowns in these cases. The abuser has already traumatized the victim once. The last thing victims need, especially as they recover, is more trauma.

Compensation

We mentioned the kinds of damages a Columbia personal injury attorney can obtain in these cases. Now, let’s break it down a little more.

Most sexual assault victims have problems developing relationships, be they personal or professional. This inability usually costs them thousands of dollars in lost earning opportunities. These individuals also need ongoing therapy, just so they can function on a daily basis.

A fundamental principle in the law is “you break it, you buy it.” The people who caused these losses, or more frequently their employers, are responsible for these damages.

Third party liability theories in sexual assault cases include negligent hiring and, its legal cousin, negligent supervision.

Basically, negligent hiring is retaining an individual without conducting a thorough investigation and/or a failure to respond appropriately to red flags. Special rules apply if the background issue is a criminal conviction.

Negligent supervision could be a failure to properly watch employees. Liability also applies if the business-owner knew about a discipline issue and failed to adequately address it.

To calculate noneconomic losses, for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment in life, most attorneys multiply the economic losses by two, three, or four, mostly depending on the evidence in the case. Some other factors include applicable legal theories and a party’s motivation to settle quickly, if any.

Justice

Most sexual assault actors feel like they got away with it, especially after the criminal and civil statute of limitations pass. Many organizational owners, like landowners and directors of volunteer organizations, feel like they have no responsibility at all.

A Columbia personal injury lawyer forces these individuals to accept responsibility for the injuries they cause. In a perfect world, people would automatically admit their wrongdoing and make things right. But we don’t live in a perfect world.

This justice is available if a case is strong enough to overcome some common defenses, such as lack of evidence.

If several decades have passed, evidence is usually hard to obtain in these cases. This lack of evidence often hampers the party with the burden of proof, which in this case is the victim. Attorneys usually partner with private investigators and other outside professionals to build solid cases.

Work With a Thorough Richland County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Columbia, contact the Marc Brown Law Firm. Attorneys can connect victims with doctors, even if they have no insurance or money.

Source:

nsvrc.org/statistics