We look at how to make a sex abuse claim against a school
For further guidance on how to make a sex abuse claim against a school call our confidential helpline on 0333 888 0445 or send a brief email to us at [email protected]
If you are considering making a compensation claim agaisnt a school for sex abuse you suffered while a pupil then the first thing you need to do is find a lawyer who specialises in this area of law.
Sex abuse claims need to be handled by lawyers who are experienced in dealing with these cases and who have a proven track record of success.
You also need to think about how the claim will be funded. We deal with sex abuse cases on a no win, no fee basis. This means you don’t have to pay any legal fees upfront and should not let money worries put you off seeking justice.
Once you have selected your lawyer and agreed on how the claim will be funded, you will need to provide a summary of what occurred. We appreciate this may be difficult for you. There is no hurry. You can take your time and we can assure you it will be dealt with in complete confidence.
It is important to give details of any investigations that have been carried out, either at the time the sex abuse occurred or later on. In particular please give details of any police involvement or criminal prosecution.
The amount of compensation you receive will depend on the extent and duration of the abuse, and how it has affected you, emotionally as well as physically.
We can arrange for an independent medical assessment to be carried out and can also look at the financial impact the abuse has had on your life. A claim can be made for lost earnings, for example.
A sex abuse claim against a school can be made even if the abuse was carried out many years ago. Lawyers call these claims ‘historic abuse’ cases.
To give you an example of what is involved, here are some details of a historic abuse claim we have recently made on behalf of a man who was abused as a child at school. Obviously we are keeping his identity confidential.
Our client was a pupil at a junior school in the 1970’s. He suffered serious sexual abuse at the hands of his teacher, who abused him under the guise of punishment for bad behaviour. The abuse began within 4 weeks of him joining the school aged 8 years and continued until he left at the age of 11. The severity of the abuse escalated over time, gradually getting worse the longer it went on.
The abuse caused our client problems throughout his adolescence and adult life. This included difficulty in controlling his anger and led to emotionally unstable personality traits. It seriously impaired his ability to maintain relationships and hold down a good job.
He was unable to confront the his abuse for many years, but after finding the strength to report it to the police the abuser was prosecuted and sent to prison in 2016.
Historical abuse cases like this can raise challenging legal issues. However our experienced abuse lawyers know how to go about gathering all the evidence that is needed. In this case we obtained the police records, the indictment, the client’s medical records and psychiatric evidence. Earnings information was also gathered from HMRC and numerous former employers, which enabled us to claim the earnings that our client would have received had the abuse he suffered as a child not impacted on his adult life.
As with most of the abuse cases we deal with, the claim was settled out of court and our client was delighted with the compensation he received.
For more information about how to make a sex abuse claim against a school you can read details of another successful case here. You can also read our case study of a woman who recovered £70,000 for abuse at school.