Sexual assault is a traumatic experience that affects millions of people. Despite the high rate of sexual assault, many survivors do not receive the justice they deserve. However, every survivor of sexual assault deserves their day in court, where they can receive the validation, support, and justice they need to heal and move forward.
Because you have suffered enough.
• Because you deserve to be happier.
• Because "nothing ventured, nothing gained."
• Because you might feel OK now but differently later.
• Because you may later have unforeseen medical issues.
• Because you might need some therapy down the road.
• Because you may be financially OK now but hit a hard spell later.
• Because you aren't an attorney.
• Because you've never done anything like this before.
• Because new laws are passed all the time.
• Because old laws are re-interpreted by courts all the time.
• Because even if one attorney told you no, another may say yes.
• Because even if you go forward and fail, you'll be paving the way for others to succeed.
• Because even if you go forward and fail, you'll feel better in the long run having tried.
• Because your perpetrator may still be hurting kids now.
• Because other individuals who ignored or enabled his crimes may still be in positions of power.
• Because the institution that hired both your perpetrator and his enabler(s) may still be making callous and reckless decisions.
• Because if you don't face them squarely and deal with them thoroughly, some of the harmful effects of your abuse may unintentionally affect others around you.
• Because one way to overcome feeling sad, stuck, or hopeless is to take your power back from the wrongdoer who took it from you long ago.
These are just some of the reasons that - if you were abused - YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF and your loved ones to take one very simple step: talking with an experienced attorney. They can explain whether and what legal options you may have when they expire and what-if anything-you could do to preserve them (while you ponder whether and how to proceed).
We use that phrase-YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF-deliberately. We at Horowitz Law firmly believe, based on years of experience helping abuse victims, that you will be better off in the long run if you look squarely at the opportunities you may have, even though it may be stressful in the short term and even though you may choose NOT to take advantage of these options.
Let's put it a different way: You OWE it to yourself to examine whether you can do anything legally about your abuse in the same way you owe it to yourself to examine what may be going on with any health issue you may have. In both situations, you deserve the advice of one or two professionals so you can be sure you are or can (excuse the cliche) live your best life.
Why? Again, in a nutshell, you are a good person who's been hurt and who doesn't deserve more pain, either physical or emotional. Indeed, on the contrary, you deserve a more full, productive, and satisfying life (and tragically, many abuse survivors never
All we're advocating is that - if you were hurt in childhood - you sit down with a lawyer and say, "Nothing can give me back my childhood. But is there something, anything, that I might do now to make myself feel better, get financial help, and prevent my predator from molesting other kids?" Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Almost every good lawyer will be happy to take an hour or more to listen to you (which, in and of itself, is likely to be healing and therapeutic for you) and discuss the strength of your legal position and the likelihood of your success with litigation. Certainly, we at Horowitz Law work like this. We're always glad to listen to someone who has been wounded, lay out legal possibilities, and discuss the pros and cons in detail.
Knowledge is Power
Finally, you may feel very lucky just to have survived your childhood. But there's no reason you can't feel lucky AND seek justice. You may dread the thought of "bringing all that up again." But you can best make the decision to do that ONLY AFTER you've sat down with an attorney. You may think, "But it was long ago. There were no witnesses. I have no proof."
However, an experienced attorney can share with you case after case like yours in which these perceived obstacles were overcome. You may be pessimistic about a positive outcome for any number of other reasons. But the future is hard to predict, particularly in an arena that is largely unknown to you. An attorney can give you a good idea of your chances of success in a lawsuit. So take a small but significant step forward: Call an attorney!
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by religious authority figures and numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists. If you need a lawyer because a member of a religious organization, doctor, professional, or therapist sexually abused you, contact us today at 888-283-9922 to discuss your options today.