Attorney for Victims of Sexual Abuse by a Coach in New York

Athletics and sports are often an essential part of a child’s or young adult’s life. Young athletes build self-confidence and friendships while engaging in physical exercise. Parents embrace and support their children’s participation. They also place a significant amount of trust in the coaches and other adults who run teams, programs, and other athletic organizations. When a coach violates this trust and sexually abuses a young athlete in their charge, the results are devastating and leave a lifetime of scars.

If a coach sexually abuses a young athlete, they should be criminally prosecuted. However, survivors also have a right to hold these predators civilly accountable for their actions. This includes the organizations or schools that allowed the behavior to occur. The Law Office of Andrew Shubin is dedicated to helping survivors of abuse. Contact our attorney for victims of sexual abuse by a coach in New York for a free and confidential appointment. Call (814) 826-3586 to schedule your consultation.

Sexual Abuse in Sports Occurs in Many Forms in New York

Sexual abuse in sports could happen in a wide variety of forms. Coaches build close relationships with the athletes in their charge and, in some unfortunate situations, they violate this relationship. It is not uncommon for young athletes not to report abuse because they feel ashamed or wrongly believe they will hurt their teammates or the school or organization.

Abuse is not limited to one particular sport. Young athletes who participate in swimming, gymnastics, baseball, basketball, football, and other individual and team sports have been victims of abuse.

While the abuser is often a coach, sexual abuse could be committed by other adults involved with youth sports. For example, a team trainer or doctor could take advantage of their access and relationship with a young athlete. Teammates have also been guilty of sexual abuse, sometimes through ritual hazing. Many schools and youth sports organizations have failed to take precautions to prevent sexual misconduct. In other cases, allegations of abuse have been ignored or only investigated lightly to avoid ruining the school or institution’s reputation.

Holding Coaches and Institutions Liable for Sexual Abuse in New York

In most cases, the coach or other adult abuser is the obvious individual to hold liable for the harm they caused. However, there is often good reason to believe that the school or athletic association failed to provide a safe environment for the children and young adults involved in their sports programs.

Organizations and schools owe their young athletes a duty of care. When an organization fails to meet or deviates from its duty and a foreseeable injury occurs, the entire organization could be held accountable. These violations provide our experienced New York sexual abuse attorney an opportunity to hold these large institutions financially liable for the sexual abuse that occurred on their watch.

Organizations fail to protect their young athletes by not conducting thorough background checks, ignoring abuse allegations, conducting cursory investigations, or otherwise not instituting protocols to safeguard children and young adults from abuse. Our New York sexual abuse attorney will work to hold all liable parties accountable for the abuse you or your loved one suffered.

Statute of Limitations for Sexual Abuse by a Coach in New York

A statute of limitations is the law that governs when a civil lawsuit must be filed. Every plaintiff has a time limit to file a claim. The length of time depends on the type of case. If you were an adult victim of sexual abuse, you have three years from the date of the incident to file a civil lawsuit. However, the deadline is significantly different if the victim was a minor when the abuse occurred.

New York, along with many other states, has recently amended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. Because it often takes years for a young victim to acknowledge what occurred, many older statutes of limitations prohibited survivors from filing a claim by the time they were ready to come forward.

In 2019, New York enacted legislation that extended the time survivors had to file sexual abuse cases against a coach. Before the change, a young athlete who was abused as a minor had until their 23rd birthday to file a lawsuit. Under the new law, the deadline was extended until the survivor’s 55th birthday.

The legislation also included a lookback window. A lookback window is a set amount of time when anyone who was previously prohibited from filing a claim could do so. However, this window was short and was initially scheduled to expire on August 14, 2020. Because of COVID, New York extended the window until August 14, 2021. Therefore, if you were a victim of sexual abuse by a coach and your case was barred because of the old statute of limitations, contact our New York attorney for sexual abuse victims. Even though your case is older, it still might be possible to hold your abuser accountable and receive the compensation you deserve.

Our New York Attorney for Sexual Abuse by a Coach Could Help You

The devastating effects of sexual abuse should not mar the joy of youth sports. Unfortunately, coaches and other adults violate the trust placed in them. If you or a family member is a survivor of abuse, contact our attorney for sexual abuse by a coach in New York. The lawyers and staff at The Law Office of Andrew Shubin provide victims of abuse compassionate, professional, and vigorous representation. Contact our office at (814) 826-3586 for a confidential and free appointment.