Victims of sexual assault can seek payments or “compensation” for their injury losses by means of a sexual assault injury lawsuit. In fact, this may be the only way victims can gain payments for the physical and emotional injuries that they suffered. A criminal lawsuit against the perpetrator, even if it results in a conviction, will not ordinarily involve payments to the victim. Civil lawsuits usually are resolved quietly out of court by the plaintiff’s and defendant’s attorneys, who negotiate a settlement. Or they can go to trial. In either event, victims can be paid substantial sums as sexual assault compensation.

How Much Can My Sexual Assault Lawsuit Pay?

If you are a victim of sexual assault, you may be wondering how much your injury lawsuit can pay. That depends on the individual circumstances of your case, as well as who is named as defendants in the lawsuit.

When substantial damages or injuries are caused by the sexual assault, substantial payments may be made to the victim. Such payments can be calculated based on several things, including the severity of the rape or sexual assault and any injuries suffered in the process, along with the actual cost of their treatment.

A victim’s emotional injuries also can be a significant factor in determining compensation for a sexual assault. Perhaps extensive -- and costly -- mental or emotional therapy was needed after the assault, or perhaps the assault made the victim unable to work or function in a normal capacity. Such emotional injuries are deemed legally as pain and suffering. Those injuries’ costs and value in a civil sex assault lawsuit can be high, and will be assessed by a jury at trial or by both parties when negotiating a settlement out of court.

Though it’s impossible to know in advance the exact amount any individual’s sex assault lawsuit could provide as monetary compensation, some victims of sexual harassment alone -- without a physical assault -- have been awarded millions of dollars in damages. Out-of-court settlements which include confidentiality agreements also may be incentive for defendants to pay substantial sums to avoid the publicity of a trial.

What if the Rapist Can’t Pay?

Of course, not many individuals are able to pay large sums for damages. What if the perpetrator of your sexual assault cannot pay? With that problem in mind, it’s advisable to include among defendants in your injury lawsuit a “third party” such as an employer or an institution whose negligence may have contributed to the assault. This could be a store, business, school, college or university. High settlement claims are far more likely to be paid when a third-party institution such as this is part of a sex assault lawsuit.

How to File a Sexual Assault Lawsuit

As for how to file a civil lawsuit after a sexual assault, you can do that by reaching out to The Willis Law Firm today. We will provide you with a confidential legal review of your case --a case review with no charge to you and no strings attached. Your sex assault lawyer from The Willis Law Firm then can advise you on your prospects for a successful injury lawsuit in the civil lawsuit arena. Keep in mind that, as a civil lawsuit, your lawsuit claiming damages for a sexual assault is technically not a “sexual assault lawsuit.” There is no cause of action for sexual assault in the realm of civil lawsuits. Sexual assault is a criminal charge.

Rather, your civil lawsuit, though based on sexual assault, will claim damages for certain “intentional torts,” or wrongful acts, which caused you harm. Fortunately, it is easier to prevail in such a civil lawsuit than in a criminal lawsuit for sexual assault. A civil lawsuit requires only a “preponderance of the evidence” to establish guilt. A criminal lawsuit requires evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt” to establish guilt.

Such acts can include:

• False imprisonment
• Assault and battery
• Negligent infliction of emotional distress
• Intentional infliction of physical distress
• Past & Future Medical and Counseling Bills
• Lost Wages in Past and Future
• Damages for Harm to Relationship to Family and Spouse

Also keep in mind that your civil lawsuit is independent of any criminal action. Even if the defendant in your case was not convicted of a criminal charge, you still can prevail in a civil lawsuit. Remember: Although O.J. Simpson was acquitted of criminal charges in the notorious murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, he was found legally responsible for their deaths in a civil lawsuit filed by their survivors.

What About Statutes of Limitations in a Sexual Assault?

Your injury attorney with The Willis Law Firm can start evaluating your case by making sure you have not exceeded the statute of limitations for filing such a lawsuit in your state. Such statutes of limitations for rape indicate the time frame within which you must file a lawsuit. After that time has elapsed, you no longer have a legal right to file the lawsuit.

In many states the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits ranges from one to five years. In a case involving rape or sexual assault, it is the maximum time allowed of five years. That means you have five years from the date of the rape or sexual assault to file a civil lawsuit against the perpetrator, or those whose negligence contributed to the attack. If the victim was a minor child at the time of the sexual assault, then in many states additional one to five years is added to the filing deadline from the date of majority or age 18 in most states.

Get a Sex Assault Lawyer to Represent Your Right

If you are eligible, your sex assault lawyer or attorney with The Willis Law Firm can act by filing an injury lawsuit in your behalf. Such a civil lawsuit, as opposed to a criminal lawsuit, can claim compensation, or payments, for the damages of your injury losses. Keep in mind that your lawsuit can use a pseudonym, such as “Jane Doe or John Doe,” in place of your real name in order to protect your identity. The majority of sexual assualt lawsuits, the suit does not go to trial, but rather is resolved quietly by means of both parties negotiating an out-of-court settlement. That reduces the court costs for both sides and further shields you from exposure during the legal process. If you or a loved one have been assualted whether in a hotel, parking garage, office building, private or summer camp, commerical business or by a professional, manager or other, then you have rights in civil and criminal court

Contact The Willis Law Firm today, and let’s launch the process of gaining sexual assault compensation -- and justice -- for you. Call 1-800-883-9858 for a Free and Confidential Consultation 1-800-883-9858