Woodstock Civil Sexual Assault Lawyer

Survivors of sexual assault have endured some of the most agonizing trauma imaginable; a profound violation of their physical and emotional selves. Stepping forward to seek justice, accountability, and compensation for the injuries inflicted by a sexual assault takes tremendous courage and strength. It is the least anyone can do to ensure those brave survivors get the high-quality legal representation they need and deserve.  The Law Offices of Kyle E. Koester, LLC is a Woodstock-area personal injury law firm that represents sexual assault survivors in seeking financial compensation from those who did them harm. Contact us today. 

Our Sexual Assault Injury Law Practice

We cannot claim to “understand” the trauma a sexual assault survivor has endured. We recognize that the injuries often run too deep, and the sense of violation feels too personal to be something any other person can truly share. Instead, as lawyers for survivors of sexual assault, we commit ourselves to the mission of making sure sexual assault survivors receive accurate, comprehensive legal advice, and have a strong, steadfast advocate for their rights under Georgia law when they choose to tell their stories and seek accountability and damages from perpetrators and anyone who facilitated an assault. Nothing is “easy” about pursuing a civil claim for damage arising out of a sexual assault, but our clients can take strength in knowing they can count on our sound counsel, unflinching support, and relentless pursuit of the compensation they deserve.

The Devastating Toll of Sexual Assault in Cherokee County

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) publishes statistics of crimes committed in the state. In the most recent year for which data is available, 2017, the GBI reported that the state prosecuted thirty-three rapes and seven instances of domestic sexual abuse in Cherokee County. In all likelihood, those statistics vastly underrepresent the true toll of sexual assault in the Woodstock area. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a large majority of sexual assaults go unreported.  Survivors of sexual violence face significant physical, emotional, and psychological effects. RAINN, a advocacy organization combating sexual violence, reports that survivors frequently experience:

• Depression;
• Flashbacks;
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
• Substance abuse;
• Suicidal thoughts and self harming behaviors; 
• Eating disorders;
• Sleep disturbances;
• Sexually transmitted diseases; and
• Unwanted, unplanned pregnancies. 

These are just some of the challenges survivors face. Every survivor’s story is unique, influenced by factors as varied as their age at the time of the assault, the identify of the perpetrator, and the circumstances of the assault. One job of an experienced sexual assault injury attorney is to learn about the individual client’s experience of assault and to work with the client to develop a legal strategy that fits the client’s goals and needs. 

Sexual Assault Survivors’ Legal Rights in Georgia

As victims of a crime that inflicted physical and emotional injury, survivors of sexual assault have rights. They have the right to expect that the state, through the through the Cherokee County District Attorney, will prosecute the perpetrators of the sexual assault if doing so is possible. They also have a right to seek compensation for their injuries from the perpetrator, from those legally-responsible for the perpetrator’s actions, and from other potential sources of funds discussed below. 

Rights to Compensation for Sexual Assault Injuries

At the Law Offices of Kyle E. Koester, LLC, we represent survivors of sexual assault in seeking financial compensation for their injuries. Depending upon the circumstances of the assault, our clients may have the right to receive compensation through the following means:

• A legal action against the perpetrator, seeking money damages for the harm the perpetrator caused. This is, essentially, a “personal injury”-type lawsuit in which our client can seek compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment, and other harms inflicted by the sexual assault, as well as any “punitive” damages authorized under Georgia law. 
• A legal action against anyone who is legally-responsible under Georgia law for the perpetrator’s conduct, seeking the same types of damages as above. This type of legal action could seek compensation from, for example, an organization or institution that enabled the sexual assault (which can often be the case in cases of childhood sexual assault), or from the perpetrator’s employer (if the assault happened while the perpetrator was working), or from the survivor’s own employer (if the employer enabled conditions that allowed the assault to occur). 
• Applying for benefits from the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Program (CVCP), which authorizes payment of up to $25,000 to victims of sexual violence in certain circumstances for medical expenses and loss of income or support. 
• Applying for workers’ compensation benefits if the sexual assault occurred while the survivor was working. When applicable, workers’ comp pays for certain medical and disability-related expenses associated with a workplace injury, including physical and emotional injury caused by a sexual assault. 

In any given representation of a sexual assault survivor, our firm may advise pursuing one or more of these avenues for compensation. Every case is different, so we cannot say that all – or even any – of the options above will always be available. We can, however, commit to our clients that we will provide them with sound, considered, compassionate advice tailored to their needs and goals. Clients of our offices frequently ask “how much” money they might expect to recover from one or more of the sources above. The answer depends largely on the circumstances of the sexual assault and on the sources from which our client might have rights to obtain compensation. A lawsuit against a well-insured perpetrator or a wealthy institution that enabled an assault may result in a larger financial recovery than, say, an action against an individual, uninsured perpetrator who is incarcerated. As above, our aim in representing survivors who are ready to step forward and take legal action is to give them informed, straightforward advice and counsel so that they can take steps consistent with their priorities.

Rights in Relation to Criminal Prosecutions

In the course of representing survivors of sexual assault, we frequently also help our clients manage their own participation in criminal prosecutions of the perpetrator of the assault. We recognize that not all survivors choose to participate in a criminal prosecution, of course, and support our clients in making that decision. When a client chooses to participate in a criminal prosecution, we work to coordinate with the District Attorney with an eye to protecting our clients’ wellbeing and legal rights. In some cases, the District Attorney may conclude that it cannot win a criminal conviction against a perpetrator of sexual assault against our client. That may happen, for instance, if the prosecutor’s office does not believe cannot prove the perpetrator’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” It is important for our clients to understand that even if the District Attorney does not think it can win a criminal prosecution, that does not mean our client will necessarily be out-of-luck in seeking compensation in Georgia civil court. Criminal prosecutors must meet a much higher “burden of proof” to convict someone of a crime than we must meet to prove that someone owes damages to our client in connection with a sexual assault. You can still seek financial compensation even if the District Attorney has declined to prosecute the person who assaulted you.

Rights Relating to Childhood Sexual Assault

In the past, survivors of childhood sexual assault who, in adulthood, wanted to seek justice and accountability for what happened to them as children would often find the doors to the courthouse closed to them because of the “statute of limitations” (or time-limit for filing a lawsuit against someone for damages). Today, however, Georgia law permits survivors of a sexual assault that occurred in childhood to take legal action within 5 years of turning 18. In addition, if the sexual assault happened after July 1, 2015, then even if the survivor has already turned 23, the survivor may also file a lawsuit for money damages “within two years from the date that the [survivor] knew or had reason to know of such abuse and that such abuse resulted in injury to the [survivor] as established by competent medical or psychological evidence.”  In other words, survivors of childhood sexual assault have extra time in Georgia to take legal action against the person who assaulted them and/or an individual or institution that facilitated that assault or was otherwise legally-responsible for the perpetrator’s actions. Speaking with an attorney from our office is a good way to figure out if you have rights under these laws. 

How We Help

Because every case of sexual assault has its own unique facts and circumstances, we provide varying legal services in helping our clients achieve accountability and compensation for their injuries. Our mission, in general, is to ensure our clients get the money they deserve and that we offer them sound, careful, compassionate legal advice in achieving that goal. Nothing is easy about taking legal action in relation to a sexual assault. The crime itself represents a profound trauma in our client’s life, and legal action relating to it can put survivors in a position of having to relive that trauma in certain ways. One aspect of many representations of survivors of sexual assault involves investigating the facts and and circumstances of the assault and its aftermath, which can be a painful process for our clients. For this reason, we frequently encourage our clients to ensure they have an emotional support-system in place before we move forward with any legal strategy. This may include working with a trained therapist who can counsel the client through the psychological challenges of seeking accountability in the courts, while we focus on the legal challenges. When we have settled on an appropriate legal strategy with our clients in sexual assault cases, we frequently also engage in negotiations with defense attorneys and insurance carriers over a potential settlement of our clients’ claims. Not all cases settle, however, and we understand that for some of our clients, a “quiet settlement” is not necessarily a preferred outcome. Some of our clients, for example, want to hold perpetrators and enablers of sexual assault accountable by taking a case to trial, and that is their choice. The team at the Law Offices of Kyle E. Koester, LLC has the experience and know-how to represent our clients’ interests before Georgia judges and juries, and we never shrink from the need to see justice done in a courtroom.  We also sometimes counsel our clients about “alternative” forms of “relief”; that is, ways to achieve justice and accountability for a sexual assault other than financial compensation. Make no mistake, money damages form a core part of just about every legal action for sexual assault we handle, because money the principal means by which our legal system balances the “scales of justice” between perpetrators and survivors. However, sometimes our clients may also want to see justice done by forcing changes in the way an individual or institution behaves or operates, in order to prevent sexual assaults from occurring in the future. We always encourage our sexual assault survivor clients to speak with us about their priorities in taking legal action, so that we can seek the remedies that best suit their needs.

Your Woodstock, Georgia Civil Sexual Assault Attorney

Sexual assault inflicts injuries that leave lasting physical and emotional scars. At the Law Offices of Kyle E. Koester, LLC, we commit ourselves to serving the needs and legal interests of our clients who have made the brave choice to step forward and seek justice and accountability through the Georgia legal process. Legal action cannot change the past. However, the financial damages and other remedies available to survivors under Georgia law can help them to gain the support they need to confront and overcome a sexual assault trauma.  If a sexual assault harmed you, no matter when it occurred, you may have significant legal rights to compensation and other relief. Contact the Law Offices of Kyle E. Koester, LLC today online or call us at 770-744-5250 for a free, 100% confidential, no-obligation case evaluation.