FAQs

If you suffered a catastrophic injury in an accident caused by another party, such as a motor vehicle accident, or medical malpractice, you may be eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit. A successful lawsuit may result in compensation to cover your medical expenses, any lost wages you absorbed throughout your recovery, pain and suffering, and more.

Unlike most lawsuits that are filed by one or a few affected individuals, a class action lawsuit is filed by large groups of individuals who have been similarly affected by a harmful event, product, or action. In addition to making it easier for more people to seek justice who may not have the resources to do so on their own, class actions also provide more weight against corporations in order to better hold them accountable for their wrongdoing.

In addition to recovering monetary compensation for your pain and suffering, relevant medical expenses, and more, filing a lawsuit is a key step in holding the perpetrator accountable for the harm they inflicted on you. It is also a powerful way to minimize the chances that others will be similarly abused in the future.

While it is certainly important to hold individual perpetrators accountable for the harm they have inflicted on their victims, sometimes abuse is so embedded within an organization that pursuing justice against the entire institution is a necessary step in ending the cycle of abuse once and for all. For decades, many organizations had, and in some cases continue to have, cultures and policies that sought to protect abusive employees over the innocent victims they hurt.

No. The federal False Claims Act was designed to encourage citizens to speak up in order to help the government combat fraud. As such, it protects whistleblowers from retaliatory action.

If you are a survivor of sex abuse, hiring a qualified sex abuse law firm like Edwards Henderson could help you through this traumatic situation by:

• Navigating your state's sex abuse laws and guiding you through the civil claims process
• Investigating the circumstances surrounding the abuse and gathering all necessary evidence to build a strong case
• Consulting with expert witnesses to further support your claims
• Advocating on your behalf in court and representing your interests against the defendant and their insurance companies
• Fighting for the maximum compensation for your mental, physical, and emotional damages
• Working on a contingency-fee-basis so you do not owe any fees unless you receive a settlement

When choosing a sex assault lawyer, it is in your best interest to consult with a sexual abuse law firm that specializes in these types of cases. Unlike law firms that may juggle multiple practice areas, one that focuses almost exclusively on sexual abuse law, like Edwards Henderson will have the skills and resources necessary to help guide your case to a successful resolution.

If you are a survivor of sexual assault and abuse, you may wish to pursue a civil lawsuit to recover financial compensation and hold the perpetrator and complicit parties accountable. In order to bring a civil sexual assault or abuse lawsuit in Florida, the action must be brought within the following time limits:

• Within 7 years of the victim turning 18
• Within 4 years of the victim no longer being considered a dependent of the perpetrator, OR
• Within 4 years of the victim's discovery of an injury and the link between the injury and the abuse
• If the victim is under 18 years old, the statute of limitations does not apply.

Learn more about the benefits and steps of filing a sexual abuse lawsuit.

If you are a survivor of sexual abuse in California, the amount of time you have to file a civil lawsuit (the statute of limitations) varies depending on the factors of your case, including if you were a minor or an adult when the assault occurred. The California statute of limitations for adult sexual assault survivors is determined by the following factors:

• 10 years from the day of the last assault, or
• Within three years of a victim reasonably discovering that they suffered physical, mental, or emotional injuries as a result of sexual assault

Because child sex abuse survivors may not realize the gravity of the abuse they endured until they are older, survivors of childhood sexual abuse now have until their 40th birthday to bring a civil lawsuit against their abuser. Additionally, the California Child Victims Act granted a temporary window allowing all survivors of child sex abuse to file a civil lawsuit, regardless of their age, through December 31, 2022.

A third party can be held liable for a survivor's sexual assault claim and consequent economic and non-economic damages if they had a duty of care to the survivor that they failed to provide. To determine if potential liability exists, the following factors will be taken into consideration:

• If the victim was owed a duty of care from the third party.
• If the third party failed to provide an adequate level of care.
• If the victim was assaulted or abused due to the third party's failure to provide that duty of care.

In sex assault cases, if the third party failed to protect vulnerable individuals (such as minors, the elderly, or disabled individuals) and to provide supervision and adequate security, they could be held responsible for a survivor's sexual assault claim and damages. A third party could be the business that employed the abuser, the individual or entity responsible for the location where the assault took place, landlords, schools, security services, and more.

Sex abuse lawsuits can be complex when a third party is involved. If you have questions about who you may be considered liable for your sexual assault case, contact the sexual abuse lawyers of Edwards Henderson for a free case evaluation.

In addition to recovering monetary compensation for your pain and suffering, relevant medical expenses, and more, filing a lawsuit is a key step in holding the perpetrator accountable for the harm they inflicted on you. It is also a powerful way to minimize the chances that others will be similarly abused in the future.