The sexual assault or sexual abuse of a child is one of the hardest things for a parent to deal with. News of sexual assaults or molestations in boy scouts, churches, sports teams, or schools seems to permeate the 24 hour news cycle. Supposed “leaders” in these organizations can turn out to be nothing more than perpetrators who cause a lifetime of pain for their victims. The victims of these crimes and their families are often left without knowing where to turn. This is where an experienced West Virginia Child Sexual Assault Lawyer can help.
Our office has helped the victims of crimes to recover compensation in civil cases for over a decade. Working with parents, prosecutors and police, our office has been able to recover millions for victims and their families when it seemed like there was nowhere else to turn. This compensation has been used to pay for medical bills, therapy, counselling, and even to establish college funds for the victim of the crime.
Many people are surprised to learn that they can possibly hold businesses or other entities responsible when a child sexual assault occurs. In many cases, the actual perpetrator can be judgement proof, meaning that they have little to no assets to pay for a judgment. Our office will work to identify whether there are any insurance policies that can be triggered to help to obtain a recovery for our client. Employers, schools, businesses, apartment complex owners, and security companies many times have insurance policies that could be used to provide funds for a client if a judgment is obtained.
While many clients do come to us as a result of a child being recently assaulted, there are many more victims of child sexual abuse who could pursue claims. The claims all have to be filed within a certain timeline, know as a statute of limitations. In West Virginia, the time period to report a sexual assault is “within 18 years after reaching the age of majority, or within four years after discovery of the sexual assault or sexual abuse, whichever is longer.” W. Va. Code § 55-2-15.
What is important to know is that our office will talk to the victim of any child sexual assault, no matter their age or when the assault occurred, in order to identify whether a viable child sexual assault civil case can still be filed.
In any civil action for sexual assault or sexual molestation, the law allows victims to recover the following:
Our office conducts completely free and confidential consultations with all child sexual abuse victims and/or their families. Also, we handle all child sexual abuse cases on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no fee unless your case is won at trial or settled. To speak to a West Virginia Lawyer about your case now, call us at (304) 574-8912.
The first step to any case is a thorough evaluation of your story. Call us and we will run through all aspects of your case in order to get an idea of how best to help you. All of our consultations are completely free and any information provided to us is kept strictly confidential.