Harrisburg Sexual Abuse Lawyers

Understanding Your Legal Options as a Sexual Abuse Victim in Harrisburg and how Harrisburg sexual abuse lawyers can help.

Victims of sexual abuse in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania are not powerless — in fact, they have many legal protections. If you are the central victim of sexual abuse in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contact Harrisburg sexual abuse lawyers immediately.

While the below information is helpful, nothing compares to the knowledge and guidance you will receive from an experienced Harrisburg sexual abuse lawyer. At Andreozzi + Foote, our compassionate legal team can help you determine if your case has merit and what your next step should be.

Should I Pursue A Civil Sexual Abuse Case?

Pursuing sexual abuse against an organization responsible for abuse can be difficult. As such, prepare for the road ahead and take the following considerations into account:

You must be ready to pursue a case — You need to be emotionally ready to pursue it because no one can do it for you. However, you should know that the overwhelming response from our clients is that the process is much easier than they anticipated.
Pursuing sexual abuse charges empowers you — From the very beginning, you, the survivor, are empowered by being able to make important decisions such as “Do I want to seek an early resolution to my claim and possibly an out-of-court settlement” or “Do I want to file a lawsuit and attempt to expose the truth publicly.”
Experienced legal team protects your privacy — At Andreozzi + Foote, we understand that you do not want your sexual abuse case to define you. You deserve to maintain your privacy and resume your life without people uncovering your case with a Google search. As a result, we frequently provide sexual assault victims with the choice of filing a lawsuit employing a pseudonym like “John Doe” so that they can move forward with their sexual abuse case anonymously.

The protection of our clients doesn’t stop there. Our legal team scrutinizes every option to achieve the most optimal result with the least impact on your life possible. Let us stress about your case so you can focus on resuming your daily life.

Limitations To Pursuing A Sexual Abuse Case In Harrisburg

Is Harrisburg the right place to pursue my sexual abuse case? While Pennsylvania law favors victims of sexual abuse, it does have certain limitations.

For example:

Statute of limitations — While you may be “emotionally” ready to file sexual abuse charges, your case must be within the statute of limitations. If the legal time allowed for a lawsuit has passed, you may be barred from taking action.
Case is unviable — The fact that you were abused and your case is not time-barred does not mean your case is viable. If you are attempting to hold a business, organization, institution, or third party liable for sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, that party must have owed you a duty of care and must have violated that duty of care. In many cases, we establish this by proving the defendant was negligent in retaining, supervising, or hiring the abuser or that the defendant did not adopt and implement necessary protocols and procedures to protect children.
Viable case not worth pursuing — Unfortunately, you may have a viable sexual abuse case that law firms will not touch. This is extremely upsetting and frustrating for victims and law firms like Andreozzi + Foote, who are dedicated to fighting for survivors. Sometimes, clients ask our team to pursue a case directly against a victim’s abuser. However, the sad reality is that many defendants do not have enough money to satisfy a judgment. As a result, law firms that operate on a contingency fee basis make nothing. Thus, the best option for sexual abuse victims to seek justice against their perpetrators is in the criminal justice system.

Pennsylvania law does not require all businesses to carry liability insurance, and many companies with insurance have exclusions for molestation and sexual assault. Harrisburg sexual abuse lawyers can help.

Where in Pennsylvania Should I Pursue My Sexual Abuse Case?

Like much of the country, juries in Pennsylvania uphold the values of our criminal justice system and do not tolerate sexual abuse against anyone. We almost always recommend our abusive clients strive for Philadelphia whenever possible.

In our vast legal experience, we have found Harrisburg jurors to be the most sympathetic in the state.

Some other important information you should understand about pursuing your sexual abuse case follows:

Sexual abuse verdicts are higher in Harrisburg than in any other part of the state. Since defendants know that juries award excessive verdicts in Harrisburg, they often rush to settle out of court for a much higher sum.
We urge clients to pursue charges in Philadelphia because its court system is better equipped to move a large volume of cases expeditiously and organized.
Soon after your lawsuit is filed, a preliminary conference will be set up among the attorneys and a court representative to set deadlines for your case and ensure there are no unnecessary delays — we generally find that defendants will attempt to delay cases as long as conceivable. The court system in Philadelphia does not permit such tactics that typically work in other parts of Pennsylvania.
Your abuser will attempt to have the case removed to another County or even Federal Court — Philadelphia is not ideal for them.
A Philadelphia judge will examine your case, review issues like the links between the defendants and Harrisburg and determine if your case can stay in Harrisburg.

While we prefer Philadelphia County for our survivor clients, at Andreozzi + Foote also has a history of considerable success in the surrounding suburban counties, including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery.

What Damages are available for Sexual abuse victims in Harrisburg?

Justice for Victims of Sexual Abuse in Harrisburg. The goal of our legal team is always to obtain the most optimal outcome for the client.

We tailor our approach to meet each survivor client’s unique needs and goals.

Although the civil system has limits (i.e., we generally cannot collect damages against the abuser, we cannot force the police to charge negligent or intentional actors, etc., criminally), we can help in many other ways.

The simple process of taking action against your abuser begins a journey that many clients find cathartic and healing. The process can transform you from a “victim” to a survivor. For many, this is even more liberating and powerful than any financial reward.

Through the discovery process, we can obtain and review documents and witness statements related to your case that can shed new light on your abuser/abuse. Further, it can force organizations, such as religious institutions like the Mormon or Catholic church, to produce information, particularly in cases where they have maintained secret files, and thus end future abuse.

We strive to maximize the financial recovery for your case because we understand the impact the abuse has had on your life. But we also understand the importance of non-economic results and ensuring something like this never happens again.

Get A Free Attorney Consultation in Harrisburg

At Andreozzi + Foote in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, our commitment is to help sexual abuse survivors find justice. To schedule a free consultation to discuss your case with one of our compassionate attorneys, call 866-311-8640, or reach us online.