Ottawa Institutional Abuse Lawyer
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If you have been subject to institutional abuse, it can have a huge impact on your life. Institutional abuse happens when an individual (or individuals) are abused or mistreated at an institution or organization. The abuse usually happens at the hands of an authority figure who exploits an existing power imbalance, but it can happen in many contexts. While a certain individual may be responsible for the abuse you’ve endured, it’s also possible to hold the institution where the abuse took place accountable for negligence.
Institutional abuse can take many different forms, depending on the victim and the setting in which it occurred. For example, a victim may experience physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, neglect, unnecessary restriction, or other harmful treatment. Some places where institutional abuse may take place in Ontario include:
- Schools
- Religious organizations
- Sports organizations
- Camps or extracurricular settings
- Residential schools (historically)
- Medical treatment facilities or psychiatric facilities
- Nursing homes and long-term care facilities
- Children’s Aid Societies or foster care organizations
- And more
Individuals who endure institutional abuse may be left to live with serious physical, emotional, and financial repercussions. Because institutional abuse disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, such as children, adolescents, people with disabilities, incarcerated people, or the elderly, the toll it takes may be even greater.
At Preszler Injury Lawyers, our Ottawa institutional abuse lawyers offer compassionate service to individuals who have experienced institutional abuse in Ottawa or Ontario. We believe that you deserve compensation for the injustices you’ve gone through. That’s why we aim to help you launch a legal claim against the parties involved in your situation. To discuss your situation with our institutional abuse lawyers in Ottawa, book a completely free, confidential consultation today.
How Do Institutional Abuse Cases Work in Ottawa?
When individuals endure institutional abuse, they are often left to deal with long-term effects. Many victims develop mental health conditions in response to their trauma. You may incur comprehensive expenses if you need psychological or psychiatric support in the wake of your experiences. You might also experience struggles with substance addiction, completing schooling, or maintaining employment as a result.
If you were exploited or abused by someone at an organization, you may pursue compensation from both the perpetrator and the institution through a civil claim. Individuals may be able to file their lawsuit at any time after the institutional abuse occurs, even if it is decades or years later. This is because the Ontario Limitations Act sets no time limit on cases involving sexual abuse. In addition, individuals who file civil claims often require less extensive evidence than those pressing criminal charges, meaning they can bring lawsuits many years after the fact.
If you decide to pursue an institutional abuse claim in Ottawa, some general steps may include:
- Legal Consultation: An experienced institutional abuse lawyer will be able to assess the facts of your case, the timeline, and determine which parties can be held liable. They’ll also be able to advise you about how to move forward with the legal process and what amount of compensation you may be entitled to.
- Gathering Evidence: Your lawyer will collect evidence that demonstrates the liability of both the perpetrator and the institution. This may include documentation like medical records, internal reports, witness statements, or historical complaints from other victims. It should be noted that a police report is not necessary to proceed with an institutional abuse claim, as your lawyer can collect these other forms of evidence instead.
- Filing Your Civil Claim: Your lawyer will file your claim through Ontario’s civil court system on your behalf. Typically, institutional abuse claims are filed for negligence, breach of duty, or vicarious liability. Ontario allows a lot of flexibility for institutional abuse claims involving sexual abuse, meaning there may be no time limits that apply to your case.
- Negotiations and/or Trial: Your lawyer may be able to negotiate a fair settlement with the institution you’re suing without going to court. This may be achieved through mediation or arbitration. If no agreement can be reached, your case may proceed to a civil trial where the evidence you’ve gathered will be presented before a judge. It may be possible to remain anonymous throughout this process, depending on the circumstances of your case.
You can be compensated for a variety of damages when pursuing an institutional abuse claim. Survivors may be entitled to financial compensation for pain and suffering, therapy costs, lost income, future care expenses, and much more. The amount you receive in a settlement will depend on the severity of the harm you’ve experienced, the degree of negligence exhibited, and the long-term effects on your life.
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Since 1959, we’ve helped thousands of Canadians get the compensation they deserve with their institutional abuse claims. One of Canada’s oldest personal injury law firms, personal injury law is exclusively what we do. Book a free consultation today with our top-rated personal injury lawyers.
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Why Work With Our Ottawa Institutional Abuse Lawyers?
At Preszler Injury Lawyers, we understand that institutional abuse cases are emotionally taxing. Reliving past trauma can be a difficult experience, but we believe that individuals deserve justice for the adversity they’ve endured. Our Ottawa institutional abuse lawyers are strongly committed to providing supportive services to our clients so that we can help them hold individuals, institutions, and broken systems accountable.
If you choose to work with our institutional abuse lawyers in Ottawa, you’ll receive the benefits of:
- Trauma-Informed Legal Approach: Our legal team is passionate about ensuring our clients feel both supported and empowered when they talk to us about their institutional abuse. Preszler Injury Lawyers will handle your case with sensitivity, respect, and confidentiality to make sure you can move forward with confidence. We’ll take the process at your own pace, with recognition of the unique emotional toll these claims can carry.
- Proven Track Record With Institutional Abuse Cases: We have proven experience successfully handling abuse claims against schools, religious institutions, hospitals, foster care systems, and more in Ottawa. We are familiar with applicable laws in the province, vicarious liability, and historical abuse claims. We have handled cases involving institutions such as:
- Free Consultations: We offer completely free, initial, confidential consultations to our institutional abuse clients. This is because our firm believes survivors should have access to the legal support they need without unnecessary costs. Preszler Injury Lawyers operates on a contingency fee basis, so you won’t pay any legal fees unless we successfully recover compensation for you.
Let us help you navigate both the emotional and legal aspects of your institutional abuse claim. Contact our Ottawa lawyers today for compassionate and kind support.
Call Our Ottawa Institutional Abuse Lawyers Today
If you’ve had to deal with physical, emotional, or financial consequences as a result of institutional abuse, you deserve compensation. Our Ottawa institutional abuse lawyers will work diligently to help you hold the perpetrators of your abuse accountable for their actions and/or negligence.
To discuss your case confidentially, schedule your free consultation with our institutional abuse lawyers in Ottawa now. You can call us at 1-888-608-2111 or fill out our online contact form. Our legal team is available 24/7 to answer your questions.
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Case Results
institutional abuse Settlements
Please note that past results are not indicative of future results as each scenario presents itself with its unique set of circumstances. But here are some institutional abuse related wins we’ve had for our clients.
More institutional abuse Topics
Here’s more information on institutional abuse related topics that we think you might find helpful.
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September 22, 2023
Consent on Campus: What Students Should Know About Sexual Assault
Many students throughout Ontario are returning to university or college classes this month. For some of the hundreds of thousands of students moving into campus…
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May 16, 2023
Expanding the Historical Scope of the “Remedial Measures” Doctrine
In cases involving negligence claims against institutions in respect of historical wrongdoing – such as cases under ss. 16(1)(h)-(h.2) of the Limitations Act SO 2002…
institutional abuse
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April 11, 2023
Loss of Interdependency in Sexual Abuse Claims
Sexual abuse is an abuse of power. It is an assault of a sexual nature that violates the integrity of the perpetrator’s victim. The act…
institutional abuse FAQs
Here are some commonly asked questions for institutional abuse claims
I never submitted a police report. How can I prove this happened?
No survivor of sexual assault should worry about not having enough evidence to come forward. We routinely take on cases where our clients have never reported their assault to the police. The only evidence we need to prove a civil sexual assault claim is our client’s story of what happened.
In fact, it is rare for cases of historic abuse to hinge on hard evidence, such as witness testimonies or formal reports. Instead, sexual abuse claims are decided by weighing all of the evidence on a balance of probabilities. Your evidence and testimony count.
I’m worried I stayed quiet for too long. Is it too late?
There is no statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims in the Province of Ontario. That means that, no matter how far in the past your abuse took place, you could still be eligible to pursue a civil claim against the person who perpetrated the crime, or the organization responsible for fostering the relationship between victim and perpetrator so that the crime could occur (depending on the circumstances of the case).
We are often retained by people in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s who were assaulted as children. Even if your abuser is no longer living, you may be able to pursue civil action against their employer, the institution that introduced you to your abuser, or any other responsible party.
The law recognizes that survivors of sexual assault often do not report their assaults for years or even decades after it happened. The law recognizes that survivors of sexual assault deserve justice and fairness no matter when the assault took place.
The person at fault is still alive (and maybe even involved in the organization). Do I have to face them?
In a typical case, you will never see the defendant. Civil sexual assault lawsuits are generally handled by insurance companies and the defendant has little involvement in the process, if any.
If the perpetrator is involved in the lawsuit, you will not have direct interaction with him or her. Fortunately, most sexual abuse cases are settled during a process called Mediation. Throughout this process, an impartial mediator will conduct meetings privately with all parties involved in the claim in order to negotiate a settlement. Since these meetings are conducted privately, plaintiffs pursuing a sexual abuse claim and their lawyers will not necessarily need to interact with the person accused of committing abuse face-to-face.
What does the court process look like?
If a settlement negotiation cannot be reached during Mediation, you, the defendant or defendants, and your respective lawyers will be required to attend a pre-trial before a judge, during which the judge will act as a quasi-mediator in order to help facilitate settlement.
If the case proceeds to trial, evidence will be presented before a judge or jury. You will most likely be required to share your story on the witness stand and will be subject to cross-examination from the accused’s or institution’s legal representation. Witnesses, various experts on damages, and others may be called upon to present evidence and face cross-examination.
Once the evidence has been presented and lawyers for both sides have presented their arguments, the judge or jury will determine the case’s outcome as well as the amount of damages the defendant may be required to pay you.
How many times do I have to tell the story?
We tell all clients that they will only be asked to tell the story when they are ready to do so; there is no rush. We do not even need to know the full details of our clients’ stories before we take on their claim. We only need to know if there was sexual touching of some nature.
Talking about your experience can be emotionally challenging, but it can also be an empowering component of the healing process. Our sexual abuse lawyers appreciate how difficult it can be to talk about this painful subject matter in detail, but we provide a compassionate, safe environment in which you will feel comfortable speaking freely about the abuse to which you were subjected.
Generally, you will need to tell your story at least once before the claim settles. The insurance company will need to understand what happened in order to know how much compensation is fair. We work with clients to ensure they are ready and comfortable to tell their story beforehand.
Your lawyer may suggest that you undergo medical assessments from experts who can determine how the trauma you suffered has impacted your overall quality of life, your ability to earn income, etc. Being open and truthful about your experience during these evaluations can be therapeutic and could help strengthen your case.
Can I remain anonymous?
We can apply to the court to ask for your name to be kept anonymous in court documents. In many cases, we can also settle the claim confidentially without starting a lawsuit.
I don’t think the person who abused me has any money. How could I get compensation?
Many occurrences of sexual abuse arise as a result of the involvement of certain institutions. In many cases, the actual abuser is either deceased, cannot be located, or does not have any assets to compensate the victim. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you may be entitled to pursue compensation directly from the organization or institution that introduced you to the abuser.
Most institutions also have insurance to compensate survivors of sexual assault. If the assault happened in connection with an institution (such as a church, school, company, Boy/Girl Scouts troop, or other organization), then it does not matter if the person who assaulted our client has any assets. We might be able to seek compensation from the institution itself or their insurance policy.
How long does a civil action take?
There is no standard length of time for how long civil actions can take before settlements are determined. However, most sexual abuse claims take between 2-4 years before reaching a resolution.
Got more questions?
If you have more questions or need legal help regarding institutional abuse claims, contact our legal team for help.
We’re happy to help.
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