Survivors of sexual abuse deserve justice, and the team at White Law PLLC is dedicated to fighting for that justice. Sexual predators inflict immeasurable damage on their survivors’ lives. Along with physical injury, survivors often suffer deep and long-term emotional and psychological pain.
A South Lyon personal injury lawyer from our firm will work to make sure these injustices do not go unanswered. White Law PLLC recently won the Official Community‘s Choice Award for best attorney and best law firm.
You can trust a South Lyon sexual abuse lawyer from our award-winning team for top-of-the-line, aggressive representation while still showing you compassionate support and respect.
How a Sexual Abuse Attorney in South Lyon Can Help You Get Justice
The criminal justice system may punish your abuser for their crimes by sentencing them to prison, collecting fines, or with other penalties. Our team believes survivors deserve personalized justice. Your sexual abuser took so much from you and inflicted suffering upon you, and they need to pay you back–personally.
Your attorney will investigate your case with tremendous care, seeking every shred of evidence available. Connecting with a sexual abuse attorney in South Lyon, MI, as soon as possible after the abuse is important, as it allows us time to discover evidence and file your claim with the court before the statute of limitations runs out.
That said, do not ever assume you have missed your chance to pursue a claim without speaking to a lawyer–some cases warrant extensions to the legal deadline.
Your sexual abuse lawyer in South Lyon will evaluate the losses and suffering you sustained because of the abuse, calculate a settlement demand, and send that demand to the at-fault party’s representatives.
Usually, the other side responds with a lower offer, and the sides negotiate until reaching an agreed-upon amount. However, our team is ready to take your case to trial if the other side does not engage in productive negotiations and refuses to offer justice.
Your Fight Is Our Fight
Understanding Sexual Abuse
Sometimes, victims of sexual abuse do not immediately realize they have actually been abused. Young children trust adults, and if an adult tells the child abusive behavior is “normal” or even “good,” the child may believe it.
Adolescents are also vulnerable to coercion tactics, and even young or not-so-young-adults may see a date rape situation as their own fault.
State Definitions of Sexual Abuse
The State of Michigan lists types of unlawful sexual misconduct in defining sexual assault. The list includes:
- Child molestation and sexual abuse
- Incest
- Engaging in sexual acts in front of children or making sexualized comments to children
- Any form of forced sexual contact
- “Revenge pornography” –publicizing videos or photos of a person in sexual situations to get back at them
Do not avoid reporting sexual abuse because of uncertainty. Abusers are so good at making survivors doubt their own instincts–in fact, they count on that. Any non-consensual sexual behavior is an act of abuse, and as a survivor, you can partner with a sexual abuse lawyer in South Lyon, MI, and demand justice.
Where Sexual Abuse Occurs
Sexual abuse can occur anywhere, unfortunately. At home, children can be abused by a parent or other relative. And as per Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL)750.520, a spouse who perpetrates a non-consensual sexual act on the other can be charged with rape.
Other places where we expect children to be safe can also harbor abuses. White Law PLLC has experience fighting sexual abuse at summer camps and sexual abuse in Michigan daycares, and recent headlines have broadcasted the prevalence of sexual abuse in religious institutions.
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights show that from one recent year to the next, schools saw a 43% rise in incidents of sexual violence and a 42% rise in sexual assault.
We’re not just lawyers. We’re passionate advocates who will ensure that your voice is heard and your rights are protected.
How Sexual Abuse Affects Victims
survivors of sexual abuse may sustain physical injuries during a violent attack or in attempts to fend off an abuser. Some physical damage is internal, causing permanent damage to a survivor’s reproductive organs or leaving them with sexually transmitted infections. Sometimes, survivors are faced with an unwanted pregnancy.
Included in the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network’s (RAINN) list of emotional and psychological effects of sexual violence are:
- Suicidal tendencies
- Anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Insomnia
- Self-harm
- Substance abuse
Of course, these varied effects trigger other damaging outcomes. Survivors may be unable to complete their education and find work or unable to perform at their jobs and experience subsequent financial fallout. They may be unable to trust or engage with others in a meaningful way and see their relationships suffer or end altogether.
We understand that you may be going through a difficult situation and we are ready to help however we can.
Serious Injury Demands Serious Compensation
Your South Lyon sexual abuse attorney will not miss a single detail when assessing the losses you have incurred because of sexual abuse. Our team knows the damages that can be collected in sexual abuse cases. Count on us to seek maximum compensation.
It is not possible to offer an average settlement or trial award verdict as every single sexual abuse case is different. But White Law PLLC has secured over $1.3 billion in damages throughout our history of representing sexual abuse survivors. Our goal is to get you the financial justice you deserve.
Depending on the circumstances of your case, you can see recovery of or acknowledgment of the following:
- Therapy
- Related medical costs
- Income loss–for time lost at work while you recovered
- Opportunity loss–the abuse may have prevented you from pursuing an education or profession and supporting yourself
- Emotional suffering
- Diminished enjoyment of life
You will always work directly with your attorney throughout your case.
We Are With You Every Step of the Way
Sexual abuse cases require a lot from survivors. You have to remember the most traumatic experiences of your life in great detail. But you deserve the justice filing a claim against your abuser can bring, and the team at White Law PLLC will be with you every step of the way.
Reach out today for your free case review. A personal injury claim is a way for you to take your abuser’s power away by exposing them for who they really are and demanding accountability and justice. We will help you get through your case and move on to a more peaceful and hopeful future.
We’re Experienced. We Care.
We Exceed Client Expectations.
