When you see a doctor, therapist, or any healthcare provider, you trust them with your body, your mind, and your safety. A healthcare provider sexual abuse lawyer helps survivors hold that trust to account when a provider crosses the line.
At Horowitz Law, we represent survivors nationwide who were harmed by physicians, therapists, psychiatrists, and other medical or mental health professionals.
Adam Horowitz has spent more than 25 years fighting for survivors, and our team is ready to listen whenever you are ready to talk.
You are not alone, and what happened to you was not your fault. Whether the harm came from an exam that went too far or a therapist who exploited your trust, you have the right to seek justice. This is not about money or getting even. It is about accountability and about getting the resources you need to heal.
Call us any time at 888-283-9922 for a free, confidential consultation.
When Does a Doctor’s Care Cross the Line Into Abuse?
A doctor’s care crosses the line the moment an exam, a touch, or a comment serves the provider’s sexual interest instead of your health. Sexual misconduct by a physician can be subtle or obvious, and survivors often second-guess what they felt, because the setting looked routine. Trust your instincts, because your discomfort matters.
Physician abuse can happen to anyone. It is not limited by age, gender, or background, and it often goes unreported, because patients fear they will not be believed. You deserve to be believed, and you deserve to be heard.
As a doctor sexual abuse lawyer, we have represented patients across the country, and physician abuse tends to take a handful of recognizable forms:
- Exams that go beyond what the visit required, including unnecessary breast, pelvic, or genital exams
- Touching without gloves, without consent, or without any medical explanation
- Sexual comments, questions, or advances during an appointment
- Abuse during OB-GYN visits, where sensitive exams can be misused
- Assault while a patient is sedated or recovering from anesthesia and cannot protect themselves
- A missing chaperone when one should have been present for an intimate exam
No single item on this list tells your whole story, so we listen to the full picture before we talk through your options. If your case happened in South Florida, our Fort Lauderdale doctor abuse lawyers can also help.
Holding Hospitals, Clinics & Employers Accountable
The provider who abused you may not be the only party responsible. Hospitals, clinics, and medical groups have a duty to screen, supervise, and respond to complaints about their staff. When they ignore red flags or fail to act, they can share responsibility for the harm that follows.
Specifically, an institution may be accountable when it hires a provider with a known history of misconduct, keeps that provider on staff after complaints, or fails to require a chaperone for intimate exams. We investigate what the facility knew, and when it knew it. Hospitals, staffing agencies, and telehealth companies can all face that same scrutiny.
Negligent credentialing and negligent supervision are the legal ideas at the center of many of these claims. Simply put, a facility cannot look the other way when it has reason to know a provider is dangerous. When it does, and a patient is harmed, that failure can become part of your case.
This is often where real change begins. When a corporate employer is held to account, the next patient who walks through the door is safer, and that protection matters as much to our clients as their own recovery.
Therapist, Psychiatrist & Counselor Sexual Abuse Is a Different Kind of Betrayal
Sexual abuse by a therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor is a profound betrayal, because these providers hold power over your most private thoughts and feelings.
A therapist sexual abuse lawyer understands how that power gets misused, and why the harm runs so deep. This kind of abuse is rarely about physical force. It often begins with a slow erosion of the boundaries that are supposed to keep you safe.
One of the most damaging patterns is the exploitation of transference. Transference is the natural way clients form strong feelings toward a provider who knows their secrets, and ethical providers are trained to protect that vulnerability, not use it. When a psychiatrist or counselor turns those feelings into a sexual relationship, that is exploitation, not romance.
This can happen to anyone in treatment, and it is never the client’s fault. The responsibility always rests with the provider, who is trained to hold the boundary no matter what a hurting client says or does.
Mental health provider abuse can include:
- Turning therapy sessions into a setting for sexual contact or sexual conversation
- Exploiting transference to start a sexual or romantic relationship
- Boundary violations like personal dates, gifts, or secret communication
- Dual relationships, where the provider mixes therapy with a business, social, or sexual role
- Using prescriptions or a diagnosis to keep a patient dependent and silent
Every major professional code, including the American Psychological Association’s ethics rules, makes clear that a provider must never engage in sexual intimacy with a current client. When a provider breaks that rule, we help survivors respond.
If you were harmed during a massage rather than by a medical or mental health provider, our massage therapist abuse lawyers handle those cases separately.
How Can a Medical Board Complaint Strengthen Your Sexual Abuse Case?
A medical board or licensing complaint can strengthen your civil case by creating an official record that a regulator found something wrong. In our experience, survivors are often surprised to learn that these two paths, a licensing complaint and a civil lawsuit, are separate, and that they can work together.
A licensing board complaint asks a state agency to discipline the provider, which can lead to probation, suspension, or loss of a license. A civil lawsuit, in contrast, seeks compensation and accountability for you personally. The board process does not pay you, and it does not require your lawsuit to wait.
Here is why the two connect. When state medical boards discipline a provider, that finding can become powerful evidence in your civil case. We regularly use disciplinary records, complaint histories, and public board actions to show a pattern and to hold institutions accountable for keeping a dangerous provider on staff. You can even look up a physician’s disciplinary history through the boards’ public records.
A licensing complaint on its own will not compensate you, and it will not always reveal what happened behind closed doors. That is one reason survivors work with a civil attorney alongside any board complaint, so that someone stays fully focused on your rights and your recovery.
Reporting also protects future patients, and we can walk you through it without pressure. Our guidance on when and how to report medical sexual misconduct, along with our overview of reporting sexual misconduct by medical professionals, explains how the Department of Health and state boards handle these complaints.
What Does Justice Look Like for Survivors of Provider Abuse?
For survivors of provider abuse, justice looks like accountability and access to the resources you need to heal, not a windfall. Money can never undo what happened. It can, though, help pay for therapy, medical care, and the stability that recovery requires.
For survivors of sexual abuse, and for parents seeking justice for a child, compensation is really about restoring what was taken: safety, dignity, and the means to move forward. Every case is different, so we do not promise outcomes. What we can say is that a civil claim may pursue support in a few key areas:
- The cost of therapy, medication, and ongoing medical treatment
- Compensation for lost wages and reduced earning ability
- Damages for the emotional and psychological harm you carry
No amount of money erases the past, and we treat your case as the pursuit of justice it truly is. If you need support right now, the confidential RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is available any time, day or night.
Why Survivors Nationwide Choose Horowitz Law
Choosing a lawyer after abuse is deeply personal, and you deserve a team that has done this work for decades. Adam Horowitz has represented thousands of survivors across the United States, and our firm holds one of the highest peer-review ratings available for legal ability and ethics. We built our practice around a single focus: standing with survivors of sexual abuse.
Survivors choose us because of:
- More than 25 years focused on sexual abuse and assault cases
- A record that includes a jury verdict of more than $70 million for a survivor of sexual assault
- Recognition from Martindale-Hubbell, Super Lawyers, and a top client rating on Avvo
- The 2024 Legacy of Justice award for our work on behalf of survivors
- A trauma-informed team that connects clients with counseling and support resources
- National media coverage of our advocacy, including CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post
Clients often tell us that our team's compassion mattered as much as the result. We know that reaching out takes real strength, and we honor that from your very first call. Whenever you are ready, we are here to listen at 888-283-9922.
FAQs Answered by Our Healthcare Provider Sexual Abuse Lawyers
Survivors often have questions before they feel ready to move forward, so here are answers to some of the most common ones we hear.
Can I file a lawsuit if the abuse happened years ago?
Possibly, yes. Deadlines for filing, called statutes of limitations, vary by state and by the age you were when the abuse happened. Many states have recently extended or removed these deadlines for sexual abuse, so even if you think it may be too late, it is worth asking a lawyer to check your specific situation.
What if I already reported to the police or a licensing board?
You can still pursue a civil case. A criminal charge, a police report, and a licensing board complaint are all separate from a civil lawsuit. In fact, those records can support your case, and you do not have to choose only one path.
Do I need physical proof to have a case?
No. Physical evidence is helpful when it exists, but it is not required. Medical records, appointment logs, text messages, emails, and the accounts of other patients can all help tell your story, and we know how to gather them.
Will my case be public, or can I stay private?
Your privacy is a priority. Depending on the law where your case is filed, we may be able to file it under a protective seal or as a Jane or John Doe. We will talk through every option so you stay in control of your own story.
How much does it cost to hire a healthcare provider sexual abuse attorney?
Your first consultation is free and confidential. We handle these cases on a contingency basis, which means you pay no fee unless we recover for you. That way, cost never stands between you and the help you deserve.
What types of providers do you handle cases against?
We represent survivors harmed by many kinds of healthcare providers. That includes doctors, nurses, OB-GYNs, and anesthesiologists on the medical side, along with therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors on the mental health side.
Talk With a Healthcare Provider Sexual Abuse Lawyer Today
You do not have to carry this alone, and you do not have to decide everything today. One conversation can help you understand your options, with no cost and no pressure. When a doctor, therapist, or any provider betrays your trust, we are ready to help you seek the justice and accountability you deserve.
Call Horowitz Law any time at 888-283-9922 for a free, confidential consultation, and let us listen.