Miami  Physical/Sexual Assault Lawyer: Sean M. Cleary

Physical and Sexual Assaults in Florida

Over 40% of the women in Florida have been a victim of sexual violence other than rape; almost 42% of the female victims were under the age of 18 at the time of the first rape. Over 20% of the men living in Florida have been victimized by sexual violence other than rape.

Over 25% of the male victims who have been raped at least once, experienced the first rape at the age of 10 or younger.

Current studies show that 25% of American women are victims of domestic violence. In the United States, more than 10 million adults suffer from domestic violence each year.

The Difference Between a Physical/Sexual Assault Civil Case and a Criminal Case

You may be able to file a physical or sexual assault civil lawsuit to recover for the physical and psychological harm you endured. This may be true regardless of the outcome of a criminal case, or even in cases where the individual did not face criminal charges.

Civil Courts Focus on Your Recovery

The goal of a lawsuit in civil court is recovery for the victim. Victims may pursue a civil suit to help them recover damages related to the sexual assault.

The stress of providing evidence in a civil case is lower than in a criminal case. This means you need to convince the judge or jury that it is more likely than not that the defendant is liable for your damages. There are still chances to win a civil case even when the defendant was not sentenced in a criminal trial.

Criminal Courts Focus on the Perpetrator

The main idea of the criminal justice system is to identify the perpetrator of a crime and to bring the defendant to justice. Defendants who are found guilty of sexual assault may endure penalties such as jail time, fines, and other consequences. Regardless of the identity of your attacker, you can hold him or her accountable through a civil case, even if you did not pursue a criminal case, through the assistance of Sean M. Cleary, Miami personal injury lawyer.

Recoverable Damages in a Physical or Sexual Assault Civil Case

Every civil lawsuit is different, and the circumstances of every sexual assault are different. Some of the types of recoverable damages in a sexual assault civil lawsuit may include:

• Medical care costs
• Therapy expenses
• Lost wages
• Emotional damages
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Punitive damages

Punitive damages may be warranted against an assailant whose intentional conduct causes severe emotional distress. Punitive damages may also be appropriate against negligent third parties whose conduct shows a reckless disregard for the lives of others.

Manifestations of sexual assault include:

• Physical trauma, such as bruising and soreness
• Skeletal muscle tension such as headaches, sleep pattern disturbances, and fatigue
• Gastrointestinal irritability such as vaginal discharge, itching, burning sensations, or infections
• Emotional reactions such as humiliation, embarrassment, fear, anger, revenge, self-blame, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Traumatophobia, including fear of indoors, fear of outdoors, fear of being alone, fear of crowds, fear of being followed, and sexual fears
• Victims may be unable to function in social or stressful situations, which may prevent them from working

Who Can Be Liable in a Physical or Sexual Assault Civil Case

Physical or sexual assault may cause lasting emotional and physical damage. Our Miami personal injury attorney may be able to help you hold the individual and any other parties liable for the assault.

Alleged Perpetrator

In a civil lawsuit, you won't have a cause of action for “sexual assault.” Basically, you won’t be filing a lawsuit against the defendant for sexual assault or rape per se. Instead, you will file a lawsuit for the wrongful act that caused you harm. Some possible theories under which to sue in a civil case are:

• Assault or battery
• False imprisonment
• Intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress

The reasons for suing aren’t always monetary. Some victims want a sense of justice that this did happen to them and that the assailant will be held accountable for what he or she did.

Third Parties

One strategic reason to name a third party who may also be responsible is to ensure some financial compensation from a person who has little to no assets. For example, you can be successful in a civil lawsuit against a person who assaulted you; but if the assailant doesn’t have any money, you will likely not get any monetary damages. Civil lawsuits against third parties are based on negligence and may be effectively waged against landlords, renters, innkeepers, employers, businesses, government entities, schools, and hospitals. They involve allegations such as negligent hiring or retention of employees, failure to exercise reasonable care in maintaining property, and negligent security.

• Negligent hiring or retention of employees. If an assault is committed by an employee, the company may be legally responsible for the harm caused to victims in situations of negligent hiring, negligent retention, or negligent supervision. The sex offender may be an employee of a corporate entity, community organization, or religious institution, and there was not a sufficient background check done before hiring by these entities. Other times, employees provide clear signs that they are potential sexual predators during their employment,t but the entity continues to retain this dangerous employee, ignoring the warning signs. In other situations, there is a lack of adequate supervision of employees, which creates an environment that allows for abuses. In these instances, it is possible to hold the employer entity liable for the devastating damages inflicted by the employee offender.
• Failure to exercise reasonable care in maintaining property. When people stop at retail locations, schools, businesses, hotels, entertainment venues, and other public and residential places, they expect these locations to be reasonably safe. If property owners or managers fail to provide reasonable security, they could be held liable for sexual assaults and physical attacks victims suffer while on their property.
• Negligent security. For example, failure to deal with predictable security issues such as unsecured doors or insufficient lighting can lead to a property owner's liability. A hotel might have had defective door locks. Because many of these areas are open to the public, failure to provide adequate security may have created a dangerous environment ripe for foreseeable criminal activity. Owners of a nightclub might have "cut corners" on security personnel. A grocery store might have been deficient in security cameras. Failure to install security cameras or place security guards in garages or parking lots when the threat of crime is obvious may lead to the owner of the property being held responsible for the injuries caused by these incidents.

Consortium Claims

Besides pursuing a traditional loss of consortium claim, we may file an additional claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress on behalf of the victim's spouse.

Common Scenarios Where Physical and Sexual Assault Occur

Victims may be assaulted and abused in the following types of institutions:

• Patients abused by doctors, nurses, hospital-based or other medical staff
• Child abuse by religiously affiliated and secular institution personnel
• Boys and girls abused in community organizations
• Dependent adults abused in mental health facilities and nursing homes
• Abuse of children by childcare providers, foster care providers, teachers or school employees, or administrators
• Sexual assault in college settings
• Sexual abuse in dating or marital relationships
• Sexual violence in the workplace

While elder abuse certainly occurs at some Florida nursing homes and assisted living centers, it is not limited to such facilities. A striking number of people suffer physical or sexual abuse from caregivers, including from their adult children and other relatives. Schools, hospitals, churches, or community organizations like the Boys and Girls Scouts, or some similar group allow for intimate contact between an employee and the victim, such as an employee of a nursing home, hospital, or medical facility assaulting a patient, or for direct interaction between adults and children.

When people stop at retail locations, schools, businesses, hotels, entertainment venues, and other public and residential places, they expect these locations to be reasonably safe. If property owners, managers, or employers fail to provide reasonable security, they could be held liable for sexual assaults and physical attacks victims suffer while on their property.

We have experience prosecuting civil claims for physical and sexual assault throughout the State of Florida. You can rely on The Law Offices of Sean M. Cleary to diligently fight for your loved one's rights, regardless of where the abuse occurred. Our Miami-based law firm has more than two decades of experience advocating for injury victims and their families.