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CORONAVIRUS imperative- extend the Child Victims Act

Mar 31, 2020 - child victims act, Media, News, Notable Decisions by Jordana Balsam

Tags: Child Victims Act, extend window, law, New York Child Victims Act

Linda Rosenthal, the Assemblywoman, and Sen. Brad Hoylman are looking to extend the window for the Child Victims Act another year. Now lawmakers in Albany needs to pass it.

THis allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse to come forward at any age to file a civil lawsuit against their abusers and any institutions that either enabled the abuse or did not investigate or report it. The Coronavirus crisis has closed state courts and halted non essential filings which has taken a huge toll n survivors pf sex abuse who have not yet filed.

Statistically it is shown that survivors of trauma need significant time to come forward and many instances by the time they are ready, have lost the opportunity to file as they are too old. Since the Child Victims Act was passed last August, 2019, the one year window in New York was extended to allow survivors the opportunity to finally have the courage to come forward.

That’s why the one year look-back window of the Child Victims Act is so important and to extend it is crucial. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic just hit pause for thousands of survivors who thought they still had time to file a civil lawsuit.

Testimonials

“If I were speaking to another family of abuse I would tell that if you are looking for someone to take you seriously, treat you with respect and integrity I would call the Herman Law firm.”
“I hired Herman Law because, “they were just as passionate about defending my daughter’s rights as I am.”
“I recommend Jeff Herman for sexual abuse cases based on my experience co-counseling cases with him in the past. His experience is second to none, he’s very passionate in representing victims of sexual abuse, and very compassionate when dealing with the victims and their families.”