BCP

New York Foster Care Abuse Lawyers

If you suffered sexual abuse while in foster care in New York, the New York sex abuse attorneys at Hach & Rose, LLP want you to know that you are not alone. Our compassionate civil attorneys help survivors of child sex abuse and other types of sexual violence take legal action against the people and organizations that failed to protect them from sexual violence or to take proper action when allegations were made.

We understand the long-lasting pain that results from sexual abuse, and we are committed to helping you seek the compensation and justice you deserve through civil legal proceedings. We know what it takes to hold negligent parties responsible, and we will remain by your side through every step of the process.

Contact our lawyers today for a free consultation to review your legal options and how we can help. You can reach us by phone at (212) 779-0057.

What Is Child Sex Abuse?

Child sex abuse involves sexual contact or sexual interactions with a child perpetrated by an adult. Child sex abuse may occur without physical contact taking place, and it’s important to know that a child can never consent to any type of sexual activity. Examples of child sex abuse include:

  • Rape
  • Attempted rape
  • Digital penetration
  • Groping
  • Inappropriate touching
  • Kissing a child
  • Masturbating in the presence of a child
  • Indecent exposure with a child
  • Creating child pornography
  • Forcing a child to perform sexual acts
  • Sex trafficking of children

According to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic of North America, sex abuse is common worldwide and occurs across a range of demographics. While many people have preconceived beliefs about who commits child sex abuse and where they commit it, abuse actually occurs in urban and rural communities of every size, and across a wide variety of cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Child Abuse in Foster Care

The purpose of foster care is to provide children with a safe home environment. If a child has been orphaned or has birth parents who cannot provide a stable and nurturing home, they may be placed in foster care.

Tragically, children in the foster care system are not always protected from sex abuse. Foster care systems often lack the necessary funding, resources, staff, and supervision to ensure every child’s safety, making the children in them particularly vulnerable to this kind of abuse.

Most foster parents are loving, generous individuals who would never hurt the children in their care. However, a small minority of foster parents perpetrate abuse, including sexual abuse.

Moreover, foster children are less likely to speak out the abuse they’ve suffered because they don’t necessarily have an adult in their lives whom they feel comfortable opening up to. A foster parent who is perpetrating sex abuse might threaten the child if they speak out, which could endanger the child’s living situation.

Children who have been victims of sex abuse in foster care can take legal action against the foster parent who abused them and the foster care agency itself. If the agency was negligent in some way when they placed you in an unsafe environment, then you could recover compensation. For example, the agency may have been negligent if it failed to properly screen the foster parents or neglected to investigate allegations made against them.

Your Right to Seek Compensation

If you were sexually abused while in foster care, you have the right to seek financial relief for the losses you suffered by filing a personal injury lawsuit against any party that perpetrated abuse or failed to intervene to stop it.

Remember, civil claims are litigated in civil court, not criminal court. While criminal charges could be brought against anyone who committed abuse, that is a separate matter to be decided by the state. In civil court, where any wronged party can bring a claim, the penalties are purely financial. Through a civil lawsuit, you will have the chance to tell your side of the story, make sure that the at-fault party or parties are held financially responsible for what they did, and potentially even prevent abusers from reoffending in the future.

Depending on the circumstances of your case, you might be able to recover compensation for financial and non-financial losses like:

  • Past and future medical expenses
  • Mental health treatment
  • Scarring/disfigurement
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional trauma
  • Mental anguish
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

While no amount of money can make up for the tragedy that you suffered through no fault of your own, it can help offset some of the associated costs and expenses of your subsequent care and provide a measure of justice for what you were made to experience. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse perpetrated in the foster care system, the New York foster care sex abuse lawyers at Hach & Rose, LLP can help you demand justice from the people who hurt you and the foster care agency that enabled them.

Contact Us Today

You could be entitled to pursue compensation for the physical, emotional, and mental harm you endured because of the foster care system. At Hach & Rose, LLP, our compassionate attorneys have extensive experience litigating civil cases against foster care institutions that failed to protect children from horrific instances of sex abuse.

Foster care agencies that care for children in need have a responsibility to protect those children from preventable harm and to support victims when they report acts of sexual abuse. You should not have to suffer alone because a social services group failed to safeguard you from sexual violence or to conduct a serious investigation of the charges.

Contact us today at (212) 779-0057 for a free, no-risk consultation. Our caring and knowledgeable attorneys will help you understand your rights and options for pursuing justice and accountability. When you work with us, we will do everything in our power to support your needs and hold the at-fault party or parties accountable in court.

Contact Hach & Rose, LLP right now at (212) 779-0057 for a FREE, discreet consultation
Instant confidential case evaluation - click here