Whenever a person claims and proves that they were sexually abused, they get entitled to compensation with money. The victim files a lawsuit against the accused, and the jury or judge gets to decide using the presented evidence to determine if the accusations are true or false and determine the exact amount that the accused gets required to pay as compensation for the injuries and damages caused. When accused of such a crime, it becomes necessary to seek the services of a well-skilled and professional civil sex abuse lawsuits attorney to offer the necessary guidance throughout the process to ensure the rights of the accused do not get infringed.
Defending a child abuse sex abuse case
The first step for defending a child abuse case is determining whether the plaintiff did truly molest the plaintiff. In a situation where the defendant might have already admitted to committing the crime, the next civil sex abuse lawsuit course of action is the determination of the damage extent and how much the defendant will be required to pay as compensation. If the defendant hasn’t been convicted of the crime or denies them doing it, then the defence lawyer must develop a strategic defence for both liability and damages. The defence strategy and techniques used by the lawyers determine greatly the outcome of the case in regards to the evidence produced by the plaintiff throughout the case proceedings.
Building a case against the damage claims
Several things get considered when building a solid defence for the damage claims. In most cases, the plaintiff wants their personal life unfortunate events to get attributed to the abuse to make the defendant pay for all of it. The civil sex abuse lawsuit defence attorney must obtain the plaintiff’s details, including the school, employment, psychotherapy and other healthcare records, to clearly understand their life. Additionally, during the plaintiff’s deposition, the legal experts influence the impression the plaintiff makes to the jury, which is essential to the defence strategy. If the defence gets to deny liability, then most of the investigation lines should get pursued, with the defence fighting very hard to get information from the other side.
The course of action if the defendant doesn’t have the required amount of money for compensation
Every sex abuse case is different, with the amount of compensation required being different depending on the invasive nature of the case. The civil sex abuse lawsuit professionals understand the nature of the cases and the extent of compensation that might get requested, with some instances requiring compensation of up to a million dollars. If the abuser doesn’t have enough money that the court awards, which is often the situation, then the defendant turns over everything they own, with exceptions to the ones the court allows them to keep. Some exemptions include $125,000 for a homestead in Washington, which enables the homeowner to keep that amount of their homestead even if they fail to pay the total compensation amount. The exemptions work to protect the defendant from getting left without anything.