Sexual abuse is a serious offense; it can lead to damaging physical and more significantly emotional damages that can last a lifetime. Unfortunately, children are often exposed to sexual abuse in schools throughout the state of California. This can adversely affect the rest of their lives, and as a result, victims have every right to substantial compensation for the damages they have had to endure. If a loved one has been sexually abused by a teacher at a school, you may be able to sue the school, employees, or staff responsible for the damages. When victims file a suit for sexual abuse at an Elementary school, junior high school, high school, college or university they are often left in the dark in regard to the potential settlement amount for their school sexual abuse lawsuit. At Normandie Law Firm our skilled attorneys can not only fight for you and your case in court, but we can help you discern the amount of compensation you deserve for a loved one being sexually abused at school. If you have any questions after reading this article, please feel free to reach out to our law offices near Los Angeles for a free consultation from one of our many well-versed legal advisors.
The Responsibility of Schools
Both public and private schools are responsible for the students that they host. If anything happens to a student while under their care due to negligence or misconduct, the parents of that student have every right to sue for compensation; this is especially true if a student is sexually abused by a teacher. The process of bringing a case against a school can be somewhat complicated, however, as not all schools are treated equally under the law.
Private schools can often be sued like any other private institution. This is the case because private schools charge their pupils for entry. A private school will also often require that a student applies for admission to the school. Private school application reviewers will evaluate a student’s grades, test scores, and application before they admit a student. As a result, the process involved in suing a private school for sexual abuse is often far easier than suing a public school. Public schools differ in that they are government funded bodies. Public schools receive money from the government based on how many pupils they admit per year. As a result, public schools are treated like public government intuitions and are given sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity essentially means that they are protected from being sued. However, in most cases of sexual abuse, public schools will allow themselves to be sued to right a wrong. All of this can play a crucial role in the eventual settlement amount for a school sexual abuse lawsuit.
It is important to note that sexual abuse can occur at any school or any school district throughout the state of California. For your reference we’ve included some of the largest school districts in California below:
- Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
- San Diego Unified School District
- Long Beach Unified School District
- Fresno Unified School District
- Elk Grove Unified School District
- San Francisco Unified School District
- Santa Ana Unified School District
- Capistrano Unified School District
- Corona-Norco Unified School District
- San Bernardino City Unified School District
- San Juan Unified School District
- Oakland Unified School District
- Sacramento City Unified School District
- Garden Grove Unified School District
- Riverside Unified School District
- Clovis Unified School District
- Sweetwater Union High School District
- Stockton Unified School District
- Fontana Unified School District
- Kern Union High School District
- Poway Unified School District
- Fremont Unified School District
Sexual Abuse and Schools
One of the most important factors in determining sexual abuse compensation amounts is being able to discern what damages you suffered as a result of the abuse. The damages from sexual abuse can range dramatically between victims, from immense physical trauma to emotional damages that require years of therapy to reach a full recovery. Sexual abuse is especially damaging amongst school children as they are more susceptible to mental and emotional trauma. There are various forms of sexual abuse and assault, some of which are bulleted below for your reference:
- Attempted rape
- Fondling or unwanted sexual touching
- Forcing a victim to perform sexual acts, such as oral sex or penetrating the victim’s body
- Penetration of the victim’s body, also regarded as rape
Out of all of the forms of sexual abuse, rape is probably the most damaging. In most cases, rape victims can endure substantial physical injuries as well as emotional damages, as force is often used to coerce a victim. Beyond physical coercion, abusers have been known to use psychological force and manipulation to coerce a victim. As mentioned prior, the largest factor in determining the value of a potential sexual abuse settlement is to determine the damages suffered. Listed below are some of the emotional damages, victims of sexual abuse suffer from:
- Depression
- Flashbacks
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Self-Harm
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
- Eating Disorders
- Dissociation
- Sleep Disorders
Sexual Abuse at Day Care and Preschool Programs
Even the youngest of children are at risk of suffering sexual abuse at schools and other early education centers, like day care and preschool programs. Unfortunately, these children are often too young to tell their parents about any abuse. Young children who are sexually abused at day cares and preschool programs may show certain signs of sexual abuse, which can include a change in eating habits, a change in mood/personality, decreased confidence, excessive fearfulness, anxiety, loss of interest in schools/activities that he or she once enjoyed, nightmares, trying to avoid taking of clothing to bathe or change, regressive behaviors (like bedwetting, thumb sucking, or asking for a pacifier), secret-keeping, not talking as much as usual, sexual behavior towards others, talking/knowing about sexual topics, etc. These are emotional and behavioral signs of sexual abuse. Of course, there could also be physical signs, which could include trauma to genitals, like bleeding, bruising, or unexplained blood on underwear/clothing, and sexually transmitted infections. Again, young children at day care centers and preschool programs are often simply too young to understand what is happening to them and cannot always express themselves with words. It is important that parents or other guardians who suspect that a child has been sexually abused takes action immediately to both put an end to the abuse and hold the liable party accountable.
If your child was sexually abused at a day care center or preschool center, it is important that you seek legal assistance as soon as possible. You could have the right to sue and recover significant monetary compensation.
Sexual Abuse at After School Programs and Sports-related Programs
Unfortunately, children can suffer sexual abuse at after school programs and sports programs at the hands of adults that they trust. The adults working in these programs have easy access to children. In most cases, the abuser is someone who the children trust. This could be a coach, a coach assistant, or other staff, for instance. It is also important to note that in many cases the abuse is not a one-time thing, but it occurs repeatedly over a period of time. Many times, the victim does not come forward immediately because he or she is afraid of the consequences, like being cut from the team, being kicked out of the program, or even harm coming to other children. Sexual abuse at after school programs and sports-related programs can have lasting physical, mental, and emotional consequences.
If you believe that your child was sexually abused at a sports-related program or at an after-school program, it is important that you seek legal help immediately to ensure that you can file a claim and recover a fair payout for the harm suffered.
Determining School Sexual Abuse Average Settlement Amounts
When clients visit our law offices seeking representation or guidance for their school sexual abuse case they will often ask us what the average payout is for their case. In our experience, many of these individuals who ask about school sexual abuse average settlement amounts already have a lawyer, however, are unsatisfied with the service they have been given thus far. Fortunately, our attorneys at Normandie Law Firm are committed to helping all of our clients regardless if they already have an attorney or not.
Determining the average compensation amount for a school sexual abuse case can be somewhat tricky as there are some factors involved. For instance, victims of sexual abuse have the option of filing a criminal or civil suit against their abuser. Civil lawsuits are usually easier to find a settlement for, as the burden of proof isn’t nearly as high as it can be in criminal suits. They will often resolve in some compensation. However, the abuser is not guaranteed to receive direct consequences for their actions. Many victims of sexual abuse, find civil suits unrewarding and as a result will pursue criminal suits. It is often much harder to settle a criminal suit, and they require that the victim re-tell the incident in detail to a courtroom, furthering the trauma. However, if an abuser is found guilty in a criminal suit, they will more than likely face some direct consequence. The value of your case can depend on whether you file a criminal or civil suit against your abuser. This makes determining an average compensation amount for school sexual abuse cases difficult. While our attorneys could potentially calculate an estimate, there is no guarantee that your case will fit this value.
For this reason, it is highly recommended that you sit down with a skilled attorney to assist you in calculating your damages. When you sit down with one of our attorneys, they will more than likely calculate the damages involved in your case. The damages from a case are often divided into three categories: economic damages, noneconomic damages, and punitive damages.
Noneconomic damages will typically make up a large portion of a sexual abuse case, like emotional distress and mental trauma are the most significant factors in noneconomic damages. Calculating noneconomic damages can be somewhat challenging as the components of noneconomic damages don’t have concrete values. However, with the help of a skilled attorney, you may be able to reach a potential estimate of the noneconomic damages in your case. Listed below are the components that make up the body of most noneconomic damages:
- Pain and suffering: This damage is compensated to a victim based on the pain and suffering they endured from their injuries. This amount is often calculated by the use of a pain multiplier that has the victim identify their level of pain on a scale of one to ten.
- Emotional Distress: This form of compensation is offered to victims that have experienced any emotional trauma suffered due to the injuries. The compensable amount of emotional distress often varies from state to state.
- Loss of Consortium: Loss of consortium is often added to the value of your case when the injuries are so severe that the victim’s loved ones are deprived of a normal loving relationship and companionship
Monetary damages often make up a large portion of cases when the damaged party is physically injured. Monetary damages are typically the easiest form of damages to calculate as they often have calculable values. Listed below are the components involved in monetary damages:
- Medical Expenses: These are the costs that a victim must endure for the hospitalization of the initial injury and any further treatment needed in the future because of this injury. These expenses often make up a significant portion of a settlement value.
- Loss of Wages: These compensatory damages meant to reimburse the victim for any wages lost from the injuries. This amount can be determined through a thorough examination of the victim’s salary history and often includes sick and vacation time.
- Loss of Potential Future Wages: Sometimes injuries can be so severe that the victim may lose the ability to perform at the same level they had before their injuries. To determine this amount, a complicated formula is used that involves the examination of the victim’s projected earnings and the impact that the damages may have had on the victim’s ability to find and perform future work.
The third form of damages is punitive damages. Punitive damages are added to the value of a case to punish a defendant for their actions and to deter them from engaging in similar actions in the future. Punitive damages are often added to school sexual abuse cases, as well as other punishing consequences that may be employed by a school or school district. In most cases, punitive damages are difficult to argue for as they require a higher burden of proof. For this reason, many attorneys will settle a case without arguing for punitive damages; this is not the case with our attorneys at Normandie Law Firm.
The value of a sexual abuse claim is usually over $1,000,000, especially if the victim were underage. Your case could be worth over $5,000,000 if the abuse were ongoing or if the school had a part in covering up the acts.
To give you an idea of what kind of settlement you could reach, we’ve included some sample settlements from other sexual abuse case verdicts to point you in the right direction:
- A $14 million settlement was reached after a middle school teacher was found guilty of sexually abusing two women.
- $10.8 million was awarded to a child who was sexually abused by their teacher off of campus and after school hours.
- A $6.75 million settlement was reached in a case that involved six boys in the fourth grade being sexually abused by their teacher.
- A $5.6 million verdict was reached after a 40-year-old High School teacher manipulated a student into engaging in sexual conduct.
- $5 million was awarded to the family of a teenage girl who was abused by their High School teacher.
- $54 Million – Child Sexual Abuse claim against Santa Monica Police Department.
How Normandie Law Firm Can Help
While calculating the value of your school sexual abuse case may be challenging, it is far from impossible. If you or a loved one were sexually abused by a teacher or school staff member, you might be able to estimate the value of your settlement with the help of one of our many skilled attorneys. At Normandie Law Firm our sexual abuse attorneys can not only help you calculate a settlement estimate, but we can fight for you and your case in court. If you file a claim with our law firm you could find some, if not all of the following damages compensable to you:
- All of you medical and hospitalization costs
- All of your future medical care and treatment
- A loss of income and loss of future earnings due to long-term recovery or permanent disability due to the accident
- Compensable economic damages include loss of property or damaged property.
- Compensable non-economic damages include emotional distress, trauma, PTSD resulting from the accident, pain and suffering and anxiety.
Victims of school sexual abuse can contact our law offices to learn more about how to receive compensation for their injuries. While our law firm is based in Los Angeles, our attorneys also practice in Oakland, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, Fresno, and throughout the state of California.
Free Second Opinions
Other attorneys will sign you up for their firm but will disappear once your name is on the paper as they are busy signing up more cases. In these instances, their business is based more on volume and will attempt to sign up as many cases as possible. In turn, they will spend less time on cases resulting in severely reduced settlements. Our firm will not treat you like a number. We will be in communication with you throughout our lawsuit and will treat you like family. So if you already have an attorney don’t worry, we’ll give you a second review of your case 100% free of charge.
Zero Fee Guarantee-No Upfront Fees Ever
If you contact our law offices today, we can walk you through the complicated process of filing your claim completely free of charge. As a show this commitment to you and your case we offer our clients the benefits of a zero fee guarantee policy. Under our zero fee policy, all clients don’t pay for our services until their case is won. If you feel in need of a second opinion, second opinion case reviews are also free under this policy. Please, feel free to give us a call, and we can guide you down the path of receiving proper compensation for your damages.
