Florida Injury Attorney Blog

In Florida, a 47-year-old woman is suing the Archdiocese of Miami, a former female high school teacher, Archbishop Favalora, and lay teaching order Teresian Institute of Florida for damages she suffered from being sexually abused by the teacher while in high school.

The woman, known as Jane Doe 40 in the personal injury lawsuit, claims that she was involved in a sexual relationship with the teacher for three years while she was a student at atholic Monsignor Pace High School and that three priests, among them the school’s principal, knew about the abuse and covered it up. She is demanding more than $10 million in personal injury damages.

In Florida, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit for sex abuse can vary. A victim may file a civil injury lawsuit either four years from the time the victim realizes he or she was injured because of sex abuse, four years after the sex abuse victim is no longer dependent on the abuser, or seven years after the victim, who was aware of the abuse, turns 18.

Sex Abuse
It is illegal for teachers, priests, daycare centers, therapists, coaches, counselors, ministers, tutors, and adults in general to sexually abuse anyone—including children. Churches, schools, daycare centers, hospitals, summer camps, and other groups or organizations are supposed to make sure that the children and teenagers placed in their charge are safe from harm.

Sex abuse is a serious crime. A person who has sustained physical injuries and emotional trauma from sex abuse can also file a personal injury claim or lawsuit against his or her attacker, as well as other organization or institution leaders that may have allowed the abuse to happen either through negligence or by covering up the abuse so authorities wouldn’t find out.

Many abuse victims have been known to wait until after they have become adults to file their personal injury lawsuit because they didn’t recall they were abused until years after the incident.

Florida is among 28 U.S. states that take the “delayed discovery rule” into account. The rule is in place to give abuse victims who may have repressed their memories of the abuse incidents and years later remember they were abused the opportunity to demand damages from their abusers.

If your child is a victim of sexual abuse or if you are an adult who was sexually abused as a child, you should contact an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer right away. You deserve to be compensated for your injuries, pain, suffering, and any emotional trauma caused by the abuse.

Ex-student alleges sex abuse in suit against Archdiocese, teacher, Sun-Sentinel.com, October 16, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Monsignor Edward Pace High School

Child Abuse and the Law, Statute of Limitations