Suing Abuser for Damages

Someone who has a legal wrong committed against them may have a right to seek justice from the abuser through the court system. When people are injured by others, they may be permitted to seek what the law refers to as “damages,” in the form of money, for such things as medical bills, lost wages or employment, physical and emotional pain and suffering, and, in some cases, to punish the abuser. Each state has its own laws on these subjects, but, for the most part, they are very similar when it comes to injuries from abuse.

However, you may have heard of a legal concept called the “statute of limitations,” which applies both to the civil justice system and criminal justice system. In civil court, it generally refers to the amount of time that a person has to sue for money damages after the crime or act occurs. I looked up the statute of limitations in STATE for bringing a civil lawsuit based on an injury [FILL IN civil case - NOTE: GOOGLE “statute of limitations STATE for civil assault and battery” TO SEE IF YOU FIND THE CIVIL SOL - YOU MAY FIND A PERSONAL INJURY SOL OR AN ASSAULT AND BATTERY SOL - MAKE SURE IT’S NOT IN THE ‘CRIMINAL CODE’] and it is [FILL IN] years as you can see from the law itself [HYPERLINK TO THE STATUTE]personal injury . However, I cannot evaluate your specific case to tell you whether or not there may be any exceptions or perhaps if there is another law that may cover your situation - you would need to talk to a lawyer in STATE who handles civil lawsuits to know for sure.

Here is a link for the legal referral services in STATE [HYPERLINK. Often the legal referral services will provide a consultation with an attorney for a small cost and so perhaps you can find out during such a consultation whether or not the statute of limitations has passed or not for your specific case. Also, in case you didn’t already see it, we do have some general information about suing an abuser in small claims court on our website in case that is helpful.