From the moment they enter a classroom to the moment they go home at the end of the day, students in K-12 schools and universities in Connecticut should have a safe and secure learning environment full of trustworthy adults looking out for their best interests. Any adult who violates that trust by sexually abusing a student in their care can not only be held criminally accountable for their actions, but also civilly liable for the long-term repercussions of their actions.
If you or a loved one has experienced sexual abuse in a Bridgeport school or university, you deserve compensation and justice. Help is available from the experienced sexual abuse lawyers at Berkowitz and Hanna, LLC.
No amount of money can completely make up for a student being sexually abused by a teacher, administrator, coach, or other adult in a position of authority over them at school, nor can financial restitution alone completely erase the trauma this sort of experience can cause. What civil recovery can do under circumstances like this is minimize the degree to which childhood sexual abuse interferes with the affected child’s life in the years and decades to come.
Lawsuits and settlement demands over sexual abuse in Bridgeport schools and universities typically focus more on long-term damages than short-term damages, including but not limited to things like:
A skilled legal professional can discuss what forms of harm should be factored into a specific claim during a private initial meeting.
All K-12 schools, colleges, and universities in Connecticut that receive funding of any kind from the federal government must take specific steps to proactively prevent and investigate sexual misconduct on campus, as mandated by Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments. In addition to taking criminal or civil action against someone who engaged in sexual abuse at a Bridgeport school or university, it may also be possible to file a Title IX complaint against them and receive accommodations through the Title IX case process to minimize disruptions in one’s academic career.
However, while Title IX proceedings can occur simultaneously with a civil lawsuit, they cannot result in a “complainant” receiving any financial reimbursement for damages, or in the “respondent” receiving penalties beyond things a school can do entirely on its own, such as expulsion or dismissal from work. An experienced legal professional can further explain this and other options for taking action over sexual abuse at school.
No student of any age should be in danger of sexual assault or abuse while they are at school, and certainly not abuse perpetrated by the adults who were supposed to protect them from harm. Unfortunately, sexual abuse in Bridgeport schools and universities still occurs, but when it does, civil litigation is an option.
If you or your child were harmed in this way by a teacher, administrator, or any other school employee or faculty member, you have a right to civil restitution, which a knowledgeable sexual abuse lawyer can help you enforce. Call Berkowitz and Hanna, LLC today to learn more.
Berkowitz Hanna
1087 Broad St
Bridgeport CT
06604
