We send our children to school trusting that they will be safe and taken care of, but this is not always the case. If you or your child was sexually abused at school, an attorney can help you take legal action.
Sexual abuse against kids is often difficult to deal with from a legal standpoint because many victims do not speak up about the abuse for years. New York passed a law in 2019 that extends the deadline to file a civil lawsuit for child sex abuse until your 55th birthday. Sex abuse in school sometimes comes from staff members, but it might also come from other students. Damages in sex abuse cases, including economic and non-economic damages, may be quite high, especially damages related to emotional anguish. Finding evidence might be difficult, especially if the abuse was long ago, but an attorney can help you find what you need.
If you or your child was sexually abused in school, our lawyers for sex abuse claims can assist you and your family. Contact our team at The Carrion Law Firm for a free case review. Call (718) 841-0083.
When to File a Claim for School Sex Abuse in NYC
Civil lawsuits regarding school sex abuse are notoriously challenging. Victims often do not report the abuse when it happens out of fear and shame. Many people report the abuse after reaching adulthood.
In the past, adults who experienced school sex abuse as children had a hard time filing lawsuits because of limitations on their claims. Previously, victims had to file their cases by age 23 or lose their right to sue. Unfortunately, this meant many victims never received justice. The New York Child Victims Act, passed on February 14, 2019, changed these limitations.
Under the new law, victims have until age 55 to file claims related to childhood sexual abuse, including school sex abuse. The new law applies to new cases in addition to old cases where victims were still eligible to file when the new law was passed. Under this new law, our lawyers for school sex abuse can help you seek justice even if the abuse occurred many years ago.
If you were ineligible to file under the old law when the new law was passed, the new law grants you 1 year to file a case. This period commenced 6 months after the new law’s enactment on February 14, 2019. The window was later extended to August 14, 2021.
Examples of School Sex Abuse in NYC
The tricky thing about school sex abuse cases is that it varies from case to case, and identifying abuse is sometimes difficult. The abuse might come from staff members like teachers or administrators, or it might come from other school employees or volunteers. The abuse could occur at school during the day when students are present. It might also happen at after-school events or extracurricular activities.
Abuse might also come from other students. While bullying and other bad behavior from students are not unusual, they can sometimes turn violent or even sexual. If the school knew about sex abuse between students and did nothing to stop it or perhaps covered it up, our attorneys for school sex abuse can help you have the school held liable.
In some cases, victims might not have realized they were being abused because they believed they were in a consensual relationship with an adult at school. It is not until these victims become adults that they realize the relationship was abusive and that the other person must be held accountable.
Potential Damages in an NYC School Sex Abuse Claim
Damages in school sex abuse cases might be economic or non-economic, although non-economic damages tend to take center stage in these cases. Our attorneys for school sex abuse claims can assist you in assessing your damages so you can get the compensation you deserve.
Economic damages are about the money you lose because of the abuse. For example, if you were physically injured by sexual abuse and needed medical attention, your medical bills would be counted among your economic damages. Proving economic damages in sex abuse cases is often difficult, especially if many years have passed since the abuse. If you did receive medical treatment when you were abused, our legal team can help you track down copies of your medical records.
Non-economic damages concern injuries and losses that do not come at a monetary cost. Chief among non-economic damages in many sex abuse cases is pain and suffering. If you were physically injured, the pain from your injuries should be accounted for. Perhaps more significant are damages for emotional and mental anguish. Being sexually abused can be extremely traumatic, and many victims carry that trauma through adulthood.
Evidence You Might Need in a School Sex Abuse Claim in NYC
Finding evidence of school sex abuse might be difficult if it has been a few years since it occurred. Even so, evidence might still be available, and our lawyers for school sex abuse claims can help you find it.
If other people knew of the abuse, we might be able to use them as witnesses. For example, other students or teachers might have known about the abuse or had suspicions. Providing a list of people you knew when the abuse occurred is a good place to start looking for witnesses.
We can also use school records to verify important details. Employment records might help us establish that the defendant worked for the school when the abuse occurred. Student enrollment records can verify that you were a student while the defendant was an employee.
If you received medical treatment for injuries related to the abuse, we can use those medical records as evidence. Old medical records might be very compelling since many abuse victims no longer show signs of physical abuse. Your medical records might show that you were injured around the time the abuse occurred. We might even have a medical expert review these records and determine if your injuries are consistent with abuse.
Call Our NYC Lawyer for School Sex Abuse Claims
Our attorneys for school sex abuse can help you get justice and put your trauma behind you. Contact our team at Carrion Law Firm for a free case review. Call our offices at (718) 841-0083 to get help.