Many survivors have concerns about facing the perpetrator in court. You can sue them in civil court, but in many situations, this isn’t a good option for recovering damages. If the attacker doesn’t have sufficient assets, successfully suing them may not be worth the time, expense, or stress of a court case. Insurance policies typically don’t cover sexual assault claims, so if the assailant doesn’t have the money to pay a claim, there may be no way to recover your compensation from them.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t recover compensation elsewhere. In many situations, we’re able to find a third party whose negligence enabled the assailant to carry out the attack. For example, in some cases, we find negligent security in businesses or other public places contributed to the situation. Here are some other examples:
An apartment complex, motel, or other business failed to provide adequate security, and a person was attacked in the parking lot or elsewhere on the property. This may happen in multiple ways. Sometimes poor lighting or broken security cameras in the parking lot may be the issue. Faulty locks, employees failing to properly secure the premises, or failed security systems may also be causes of negligent security.
Staff in hotels and motels should also be trained to recognize and watch for the signs of human trafficking or kidnapping. Poorly trained employees may not notice a problem until it’s too late.
An employer may fail to perform adequate background checks on a worker, or ignore reports of problematic behavior, leading to the employee assaulting a customer. For example, there have been cases where a delivery worker assaulted a customer they visited. If the employer was negligent in hiring or retaining the worker, the survivor may have a case against them.
In some cases, people are sexually assaulted by a member of law enforcement or private security. Again, the assailant’s employer may have been negligent in hiring or retaining them.
Another type of sexual assault occurs when a teacher at a school has sex with an underage student. The school may have been negligent in hiring the teacher or ignoring complaints about their behavior.
Sometimes a doctor or therapist may assault a patient. This can happen in multiple ways – a psychiatrist violating the boundaries of the doctor-patient relationship, an anesthesiologist inappropriately touching a patient while they’re under anesthesia, a doctor who touches a patient more than is necessary for a medical exam, etc. Additionally, a doctor may be negligent if they didn’t assault anyone, but failed to report a credible threat of sexual assault (such as if a patient tells a mental health specialist that they have plans to assault someone). In these situations, the medical worker or their employer may also have been negligent.
These are just a few possible situations of negligence that can lead to a sexual assault. There may be other third parties whose negligence contributed to your assault. If you’re unsure, please speak with a sexual assault victims attorney. They can help you determine who might have been negligent in your situation. Additionally, your consultation will be confidential – you can learn your options and decide what you want to do in private.