When you are victimized, it can have a destructive impact on your sense of well-being, leaving you feeling lost and alone. These effects can be long-lasting, requiring years of therapy and hard work to move just to get back to living your life as normal. This can lead to serious financial strain as therapy bills add up, especially if the trauma you experienced led to the loss of wages. However, you do not have to be alone in your suffering, and you can pursue a civil lawsuit regardless of whether you filed charges against your abuser in criminal court. If you need a molestation victim lawyer in Hawthorne, contact Okabe and Haushalter to learn more about how filing a civil lawsuit can benefit you.
Victims have rights under both criminal and civil laws in the state of California You can choose to pursue criminal charges against your abuser, but even if you decide against filing formal criminal charges against your abuser, you can still file a civil lawsuit in pursuit of damages.
Not all courtrooms are alike. The civil court and criminal court are different from one another, although both function as means of seeing justice done. In what ways do civil and criminal courts differ?
Criminal courts function as a means of determining whether or not a criminal offense has taken place, and if so, who is guilty of committing the crime. Once guilt or innocence has been determined by the court, the criminal court then sentences the convicted party penalties in accordance with the specific sections of the penal code that were broken.
Unlike the criminal courts, the civil courts function as a means of determining which parties were liable or negligent in terms of causing damages to property or to other person. The negligent or liable party is then required to pay out damages as monetary compensation to the person who was harmed (or whose property was destroyed) as a result of the negligence or liability.
If you want your abuser to be held responsible for the suffering they caused as a result of their crimes, a civil suit may be a helpful way for you to see justice done. The damages paid out can assist you with paying medical or therapy bills that resulted from your abuse, and can help ease some of the lasting pain left over from your experience as a molestation victim.
If you need a molestation victim lawyer in Hawthorne or elsewhere in the greater Los Angeles area, the attorneys at Okabe and Haushalter can help you with your civil case. Our team of expert legal professionals can advocate for you in the courtroom, and will keep you informed of your case’s progress every step along the way. You could be entitled to receive monetary compensation, so contact us for a free consultation today
