sexual abuse

Most people are aware of the foster care system in Illinois. Foster care exists because the home life for certain children may be dangerous to their physical, mental and/or emotional well-being.

When children’s birth parents or legal guardians are not able to adequately care for them, or they are in danger, the children are removed by social services and placed with foster parents.

Foster parents must be at least 21 years old. They must pass background checks and complete training. They must also be financially stable.

Sadly, the foster parents who are entrusted to provide a safe and stable home for the foster children sometimes fail and are abusive or neglectful.

What are some examples of social services abuse?

Physical abuse: Hitting, kicking or shaking the child, throwing objects at the child, excessive spanking/corporal punishment.

Mental/emotional abuse: Isolating the child, belittling or making disparaging comments to the child, withholding love, being highly critical.

Sexual abuse: Fondling, sexual assault, exposing child to sexual conversations or pornography, indecent exposure.

What are some examples of social services neglect?

Physical neglect: Not providing reasonable food, water or shelter. Not supervising the child adequately and/or leaving the child alone.

Medical neglect: Failure to get the child medical care when needed. Not following doctors orders or failure to give prescribed medication. Neglecting the child’s dental needs.

Mental/emotional neglect: Similar to the examples of abuse listed above. Not fulfilling the child’s need for parental love, support and affirmation.

Education neglect: Not registering the child for school or allowing the child to attend.

How do these sad and traumatizing situations happen?

Social services agencies are often overworked. The case workers may have more files than they can handle. That can lead to poor decision making and bad oversight.

When children are abused and neglected, it is often because the agency did not:
• Complete the necessary background checks.
• Adequately monitor the homes and foster families.
• Investigate reports of abuse or neglect.
• Act when there was evidence of abuse or neglect.
• Consider the families financial or physical challenges when making placements.

How can an attorney help in these situations?

We get involved in bringing lawsuits when children suffer major injuries such as sexual abuse, severe physical harm or even death in some cases. In other words, not every example of abuse listed is a case.

To get justice, an attorney would first complete an investigation of the situation to determine if the social services agency was at fault. If the agency is at fault, filing a lawsuit would be the likely next step. Going after the abusers themselves is a challenge as they usually don’t have any money. So we sue the social services agency for their negligent placement and/or supervision.

If you’d like to speak to an attorney about a possible case, we are happy to provide a free consultation. Note that there are time limits for bringing a lawsuit, so time is of the essence. Call us any time at 312-346-5320.

Sexual abuse can be rape, fondling, unwanted touching or kissing or other forced acts. Sexual abuse often occurs when a person has some type of status or power over the victim. Nearly all of us are aware of the high-profile sexual abuse scandals involving the clergy with their parishioners and teachers with their students. But another relationship between abuser and victim is that of doctor and patient.

We are raised to respect and trust doctors. They have the education and expertise about health and our bodies. We assume they will do no harm. We assume that they have our best interests at heart. We assume that whatever they ask us to do during an exam is a necessary part of our health care. Sadly, this is not always the case. Sometimes doctors sexually assault their patients.

This abuse is often physical touching that isn’t consented to, but what seems like consensual sex can also be sexual abuse. That occurs when someone like a psychologist convinces a patient to engage in a sexual relationship. Generally speaking, it’s never appropriate for a doctor to sleep with a patient.

The emotional after-effects of the sexual abuse can last for many years or even a lifetime. Victims may want to repress what they experienced and never acknowledge or speak of it. They worry that their word may not be believed against the word of the doctor. However, if they choose to pursue legal action against their abuser, the process of seeking justice may be incredibly healing for them. In addition to the emotional benefits of getting justice and peace, a financial settlement can pay for therapy and other treatments and compensate you for the harm suffered.

Illinois used to have a 20-year statute of limitations for bringing these lawsuits. Now there is no time limit for claims after 2013. However, time is of the essence to bring these cases as you want to bring the lawsuit while evidence is fresh and more reliable. A sexual abuse lawsuit may be filed against the doctor, the abuser. In many cases though, the practice or hospital behind the doctor may be liable as well.

Sexual assault cases are very sensitive and emotional. You can speak with us confidentially and we can point you in the right direction. The attorneys we work with on these cases have a track record of success and are only paid if they are successful for you.

We are experienced Chicago lawyers who help people with tough cases throughout Illinois. Call us any time for a free, confidential consultation at 312-346-5320.

One area we’ve been able to help a lot of people is with sexual abuse lawsuits against Illinois group homes and rehab centers. These tragic cases occur in a variety of forms.

The most common and probably the worst is when residents are sexually abused by people who have power over them. I’m talking about instances where a supervisor uses their position of power to make someone do something they don’t want to do. Or in cases of minors, have them do something they can’t legally consent to.

We also have helped in a lot of cases where staff members take advantage of access to kids or residents. In a recent case we got involved with, a non verbal adult was raped by a janitor in a bathroom. The group home she was in should never have let the janitor be alone with her in the first place. This is a sadly common problem as many of these facilities are sorely understaffed. When that happens it creates opportunity and sometimes bad people take advantage of that.

You trust these facilities with your loved ones and expect that they will have rules and safety measures in place to protect them. Even when a facility is understaffed there are things that can be done to make sure that abuse doesn’t occur such as having cameras, restricting access to certain areas, etc. When these facilities fail in their obligations, they can and should be sued.

And sometimes they are negligent for failing to supervise their residents and/or putting them in a dangerous situation. We are helping in one case against a rehab facility where a boy was raped by his roommate. There was a large age and size disparity between the two of them.

The saddest cases we’ve been involved with probably involve the developmentally disabled. They might not even know they are being abused and in many cases can’t actually give consent. They deserve a group home that provides protection, security and comfort and should be free from any type of sexual or physical abuse.

We encourage family members to be the biggest advocates possible for their loves ones. Studies show that many of these abuses are preventable.

The Illinois Department of Human Services is responsible for regulating group homes. If you suspect something has happened you should call them and call the police. And if you want to discuss a lawsuit against one of these facilities, contact us any time. All cases are handled on a contingency basis which means that there is no fee if the lawsuit isn’t successful.