The Type of Compensation That May Be Available With a Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
March 13th, 2024
If your child has been the victim of sexual abuse, you should report the incident to the police to begin the criminal justice process. However, even if the abuser is found guilty, you won’t be awarded any financial compensation to help with your child’s recovery and medical bills. Instead, you will need to file a child abuse lawsuit to get financial relief.
Keep reading to learn more about the types of compensation that you may be able to secure with the help of a child sexual abuse attorney.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the simplest type of compensation awarded in personal injury cases, including child abuse cases. Economic compensation is meant to make up for the specific monetary losses and expenses your child faces due to the abuse they’ve suffered. Generally, this will include things like medical bills and mental health expenses, but it may also cover more complicated things, like a reduced ability to make a living. Economic damages are calculated using things like medical records and receipts.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are more complicated and difficult to prove compared to economic damages. Non-economic damages are meant to compensate victims for the pain and suffering they’ve endured due to sexual child abuse. This might include things like pain and suffering, post-traumatic stress disorder, reduced quality of life, and disfigurement.
Rather than calculating a sum of the separate types of non-economic losses, non-economic damages are calculated as a lump sum. This figure is reached by multiplying the total economic damages by a figure between 1.5 and 5. The multiplier used will depend on the severity of the suffering faced by the victim.
Punitive Damages
While economic and non-economic damages are intended to compensate child abuse victims for their losses and suffering, punitive damages are meant to serve as a punishment for the defendant. In Texas, punitive damages are awarded when one of three things can be proven: the defendant committed fraud, acted maliciously, or engaged in gross negligence. Gross negligence is a reckless disregard for the safety of others. In order to win punitive damages, your child sexual abuse lawyer will need evidence that the defendant acted in one of those three ways.
Get Financial Relief With Help From a Child Sexual Abuse Attorney
Child sexual abuse can be incredibly devastating, both for the victim and their family. If your child has been the victim of sexual abuse, you may be able to seek financial relief to help with their recovery and healing.
You don’t have to struggle through the process of healing on your own. The compassionate Austin child abuse personal injury attorneys at Ramos James Law would be proud to help you seek compensation and justice.