Pain and Suffering in Sexual Abuse Cases

While physical injuries from sexual assault may heal, the mental anguish is often never resolved. As such, victims are typically awarded pain and suffering in sexual abuse cases, recognizing their need for restitution.

Our compassionate attorneys can help you explore your legal options while respecting your privacy. We provide free and confidential consultations for survivors, ensuring they feel empowered to seek justice. Contact us today to discuss your claim.

What Types of Financial Compensation Can Be Recovered in a Civil Lawsuit for Sexual Abuse?

Assault victims can seek financial compensation for their monetary and emotional losses, which can include the following.

Economic Damages (Lost Wages, Medical Bills, etc.)

These damages cover your financial losses, which can include:

• Medical treatment
• Therapy
• Lost wages
• Loss of future income
• Property damage

Our team will gather evidence such as medical records, time off work, and therapy bills to calculate these expenses. We can also work with economists who can estimate the professional losses resulting from abuse.

Non-Economic Damages (Pain and Suffering, Emotional Distress, etc.)

Pain and suffering in sexual assault claims consider the significant distress that abuse causes victims. This can include:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Mental injuries, like PTSD or anxiety
• Loss of normal life
• Loss of enjoyment of life

Although these have no clear monetary value, we can demonstrate them using a variety of evidence. Psychological evaluations from mental health professionals, testimony from friends and family, and expert testimony from abuse researchers can all be used to justify higher settlements.

We will also collect your personal testimony of the challenges you’ve faced after enduring abuse. Our attorneys employ a trauma-informed interviewing process designed to help you feel empowered rather than re-victimized.

How Are Pain and Suffering Damages Calculated in Sexual Assault Claims?

Damages are calculated based on the totality of the circumstances and the extent of the person’s suffering. The available evidence strengthens the claim of negligence and can provide a stronger position for your attorney to negotiate.

Frequency and duration of assault matter. Long-term abuse shows significant negligence and increases the value of an abuse case. If the defendant used violence or force, or if the plaintiff was underage, then the victim may receive more.

Both emotional and physical injuries are considered when calculating damages. Approximately 81% of victims show signs of PTSD in the weeks after being assaulted, which can increase compensation.

Lifestyle changes would also be included. Research has shown that survivors of child sexual abuse often have trouble with interpersonal relationships, including intimate relationships. They may struggle to trust others or face significant challenges in maintaining a healthy marriage.

Our attorneys use personal narratives and witness statements as evidence that the assault impaired your ability to connect with others, thus limiting your ability to enjoy life. For adult victims, issues like being unable to complete a college degree, maintain employment, or indulge in hobbies would be considered in a claim.

Attorneys can use different personal injury calculators. One is the multiplier method, which takes the financial expenses, like hospital bills and lost income, and multiplies them by a certain integer. The per diem method assigns a daily monetary amount and multiplies it by the expected duration of the victim’s suffering.

In a sexual abuse claim, our attorneys would work with mental health professionals and doctors to determine how long the physical and psychological injuries would take to heal. For child sexual assault victims, this could be decades, which would significantly increase the potential compensation when using the per diem method.

Is There a Cap on Pain and Suffering Damages Recovered in Sexual Assault Cases?

Some states have statutory caps on pain-and-suffering damages. Contact us to discuss the specifics of your case.

Book a Free Consultation

A sexual assault lawyer from Injury Lawyer Team is here to support you in your healing journey. As members of the American Association for Justice, we are passionate about helping survivors regain control of their lives by holding negligent individuals accountable.

Our team will protect your privacy throughout the process and handle all third-party communications on your behalf, sparing you from contact with the perpetrator.

We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you owe us no legal fees unless we win.

You don’t have to go through this alone. Contact us for a free and confidential consultation by calling 866-757-6452 or using our online contact form. Everything you say during this initial case review is protected by attorney-client privilege and will not be shared with anyone outside of our law firm.

All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.