Archive for: Sexual Abuse

Nursing Home Sexual Abuse | Residential Care Sexual Abuse

Traditionally, most medical professionals are trustworthy, caring individuals. However, like most industries, within that profession are sexual predators who can inflict considerable physical and emotional damage. From their position of power, health care providers can easily abuse their power over the vulnerable in their care.

If you or a loved one has been sexually assaulted by a doctor or other medical professional, we may be able to help you take action. Our attorneys have the resources, experience, and expertise to investigate, prosecute, and hold medical facilities and individual professionals accountable for their heinous crimes.

Hospital Sexual Abuse Attorneys

Abuse in the health care industry isn’t limited to doctors, but can also include:

• Dentists
• Home health aides
• Nursing home staff
• Therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists

If the abuse occurred at a health care facility, that institution might also be held accountable, with claims based on lack of supervision, negligent HR practices, poor screening practices, and improper security.

Failure to Report Hospital Sexual Abuse

Typically by law, medical professionals are considered mandatory reporters, required to report suspicions of child abuse, and failure to report may be a violation of the law.

Mandatory reporters include physicians, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, podiatrists, interns, nurses, school nurses, and hospital personnel.

We focus our efforts on the victims of sexual abuse crimes, such as abuse on a college campus, clergy abuse, and human trafficking. Contact our office today to see if we can help.

You have options. Sexual assault should not be part of the college experience. You do not have to face this battle alone. We are tireless legal advocates for victims of rape and sexual assault in the civil justice system.

College campus sexual abuse is increasing.

One in five women, mostly freshman and sophomore students, will be sexually assaulted, and about three-quarters of the time, the victim is familiar with the attacker (friend, classmate, ex, or acquaintance).

Men, as well as women, are victims of sexual abuse, which includes any non-consensual physical contact.

At the request of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a report prepared by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Financial & Contracting Oversight assessed how colleges and universities report, investigate, and adjudicate sexual violence. Entitled “Sexual Violence on Campus: How Too Many Institutions of Higher Education are Failing to Protect Students,” the report noted how many universities and colleges fail to comply with the law and apply known best practices.

Survivors of “Incapacitated Assault”

On college campuses, abuse is often perpetrated on victims while drugged, drunk, or incapacitated — thereby making legal consent to sex impossible.

Unlike victims of most other crimes, many rape victims themselves, making it even harder for them to view what happened as a crime that they should report. Often, victims keep to themselves concerned over the social risk, especially if they know the perpetrator. At a small or midsize college, the predator is likely to be a part of the victim’s social circle.

According to the recent surveys, 42% of the “physically forced” victims didn’t report the crime because they “did not want anyone to know.”

Rapists are very often repeat offenders.

Sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, the Campus Sexual Assault Study reported only 13% of victims of forcible rape file a complaint, and a mere 2% of survivors of incapacitated assault survivors report the crime.

We find those numbers staggering.

The abused may not clearly understand what constitutes rape, as a 2007 survey notes 35% of victims didn’t report the incident because it was “unclear that it was a crime or that harm was intended.”

Victims also report concerns that police won’t believe their stories, and their colleges discouraged reporting. Told by the university to “put it all behind,” it is easy to understand why the underreporting of sexual violence occurs.

As TIME writes, “A passive observer might wonder, shouldn’t these serious crimes be dealt with by the police? The answer, it turns out, is that administrators and police will have to work together to address the problem.”

The Victim’s Negative Impact

Victim’s of sexual assault often will suffer from permanent emotional and physical injuries. College students can experience a dramatic drop in grades; they may be physically unable to participate in sports, which in turn could impact scholarships. Severe depression or distress can cause victims to drop out of school.

Victims of sexual abuse can suffer these after-effects:

• PTSD
• Denial and disassociation
• Depression and anxiety
• Feeling overwhelmed, shock and disbelief
• Paranoia and fear
• Fatigue and insomnia

Holding a College or University Responsible

Outside of the criminal justice system, a sexual assault survivor may have a valid damage claim in civil court. There are several ways that a college can be held liable for a victim’s damages:

• Employee liability
• Fraud
• Faulty or negligent security
• Failure to protect students
• Failing to comply with best practices
• Providing a climate for assaultive crime

If the perpetrator is a school employee, the institution may be held responsible based on “respondeat superior.” Simply put, this doctrine states the employer is responsible for employee’s actions done while on the clock.

Colleges have a duty to exercise reasonable care in preventing harm to students housed on-campus. Institutions can also be held to a higher level of care, requiring that they do even more than just what is “reasonable” to protect their students from harm, particularly in their dorm rooms.

Who Is Held Liable?

If an institution of higher education fosters a climate for assaultive crime, it can be held liable for a sexual assault survivor’s injuries. Several factors can contribute to an environment that may lead to assaultive crime, including:

• Lacking proper drug and alcohol enforcement policies
• Failure of campus security to follow and enforce policies.
• Allowing underage drinking to be “the norm.”
• Failing to prosecute those who violate drug and alcohol rules.
• Placing predators in positions of trust

Campus Security Act

If a college or university engages in fraud or conceals certain crimes, it may also be held responsible for a campus sexual assault survivor’s injuries and damages. Known first as the Campus Security Act, this landmark federal law requires colleges and universities to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses.

Our attorneys are experienced in all facets and types of sexual abuse cases. Contact us today to see if we can help.

Abuse in Youth Sports Takes Many Different Forms.

However, the pain of emotional or physical injury is no less real. You do not have to face this battle alone. We are tireless legal advocates for victims of rape and sexual assault in the civil justice system.

Today, sexual abuse spans the gamut of youth and teen sports, from football to gymnastics to wrestling, we’ve all paid witness to several well-known (and loved) coaches face life-altering allegations of molestation.

As we’ve chronicled in other areas on this site, children are taught to trust adults, allowing predators to prey upon these young persons. Sexual abuse can happen to both individual and team athletes.

The term child sexual abuse includes a gamut of improper behaviors, including unwanted, groomed, or forced involvement in sexual activities; additionally, threats and intimidations are part and parcel for this type of this crime.

Grooming the Child Athlete

Especially egregious is “grooming”, a process where predators will target, abuse, and silence their victims.

Targeting vulnerable victims, an abuser will strike up a close friendship that tests the athlete who can “keep a secret.” Trust is gained thru gift giving and the building of a bond. Sometimes an abuser will “bargain” with a victim, you need to do this because I did that.

Next, the predator will isolate, control, and build loyalty with the victim. After isolating the athlete, often thru the demeaning of loved ones, an abuser will initiate sexual abuse. The abuser will use threats and guilt, suggest the abuser won’t be believed, and in the case of organized sports, the predator will frequently threaten their victims with being dropped from the team or not being able to compete.

Detecting Sexual Abuse in Child Athletes

As there are no conclusive predator profiles and few accurate behavior indicators, sexual abuse can be tough to detect. If you are concerned your child athlete has been subjected to abuse, pay attention to:

• Displaying adult-like sexual behaviors, language, and knowledge.
• Frequent nightmares or inability to sleep
• Loss of appetite or refusal to eat
• Dramatic mood swings Periods of intense rage, anxiety, anger, fear, or withdrawal

Our experienced attorneys are ready to help if you think you have a claim. Please contact us for a free consultation to explore your options.

We Believe the First Step Is Providing an Open and Honest Consultation at No Cost and No Obligation to You.

Coming forward with information about sexual abuse and assault can be extraordinarily difficult. Many victims of sexual violence have legitimate concerns about what happens after they contact a lawyer.

Eisenberg and Baum understands and respects the difficulty victims may face coming forward. We also acknowledge the legitimate concerns victims’ have when contacting an attorney about their experience.

Quite often, it’s the uncertainty of what will happen that prevents a victim from moving forward. With that in mind, we’d like to discuss our first meeting, the goals of the initial consultation, and our process, with the hope of offering peace of mind and ultimately, to determine how best we can help.

Goals of Our Initial Consultation

To reduce stress, we’ll keep our first consultation to an informal talk, where you’ll share as much of your story as you like, and we’ll discuss what we do, and how we can help.

These conversations can be traumatic and emotional, so you won’t be asked to relive those moments.

We are here to listen to you and your story, and then tell you your options.

Your Potential Next Steps

Having been down this path before, the attorneys at Eisenberg and Baum will provide the knowledge and options available to you.

We take our role as an attorney advocate very seriously.

As a lawyer, based on your case’s facts, we’re always ready to make informed recommendations. However, in the end, the client makes the final decision.  We believe a clear, objective and informed assessment from an experienced legal advocate will help determine what course of action is right for you.

What Does The Future Hold in Store?

Probably, there are more options available than you realize, more paths to explore, other alternatives to consider. Certainly, litigation may be the best fit. However, there are times when settling the case draws less attention to the victim.

Each case is unique, each client has their objectives, and as a legal advocate, our job is to help determine the best way to reach those goals.

No Cost and No Obligation

Meeting with us initially does not mean you’ve hired us, or that we’ve agreed to represent you. There is no charge for this discussion. Our first talk allows us to understand your situation and present you with options.

Because your attorney is someone you should be able to trust, we believe the first step is providing an open and honest consultation at no cost and no obligation to you.

Securing witness statements to help secure the most favorable outcome for our clients.

At Eisenberg and Baum, we focus our practice on child and adult sex crime victims. The firm is dedicated to holding perpetrators and the institutions which empower them accountable for their actions. Using our passion for helping clients and legal experience, we work diligently to understand our client’s situation and evaluate all available options.

Whether you are a victim of sexual abuse or you have learned of a child’s abuse, please understand that you are the victim with rights. The abuser may be held accountable in the criminal justice system, and there are times you can pursue a personal injury claim against the abuser and any institution partially to blame.

Eisenberg and Baum will resolve your case in a professional, dignified, and collaborative manner, all while keeping an eye on protecting your rights. We believe that the complex legal and emotional issues presented in these cases require they are handled with extreme care and by a law firm that has represented countless sexual abuse and crime victims.

Eisenberg and Baum strives to pursue any financial recovery you may be entitled to for the turmoil you have endured. We consult with medical experts, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other specialists to ensure that we prepare a strong claim for recovery.

We’re Working Hard to Make a Difference in Your Life

When a serious event impacts your life or someone close, you need a law firm that is ready and willing to do all it takes to protect your rights and help you get the compensation you deserve.

Skillful and Insightful Representation

Stepping forward is often one of the most difficult things when you or a loved one has been victimized. However, it is also the first step of healing. To discuss your situation with an experienced sexual abuse lawyer, contact our law firm today.