Statute of Limitations on Sexual Abuse Lawsuits in Vermont

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Author: Tina L

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Sexual abuse lawsuits can be a lifeline for those who faced abuse as a child or while in a vulnerable state, providing damages to help the survivor cover expenses related to the abuse and to move on with their life. However, many sexual abuse cases involve an inherent power inequality and difficulty confronting what happened. This leads many not to come forward about their abuse until years later when a statute of limitations might have barred the case.

In Vermont, there is no statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims. This means that you can file at any time, and there are even retroactive laws expanding when people abused before the law changed can file their claims. People sexually assaulted or abused as adults would typically follow the normal statute of limitations for assault and battery, which gives them 3 years to file their case.

For your free claim review, call The Law Office of Andrew Shubin at (814) 826-3586 to speak with our lawyers for sexual abuse victims in Vermont.

How Long Do Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse Have to Sue in Vermont?

Many states use statutes of limitations to give survivors of sexual assault only a limited time to bring their cases. This causes serious problems when victims of childhood sexual assault often do not understand what happened until later in life, and many do not work through what happened to them and find the strength to talk about their abuse until well into middle age. As such, Vermont responded by lifting its statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, allowing our lawyers for sexual abuse victims in Vermont to file your case years after the events occurred.

In Vermont, 12 V.S.A. § 522 specifically states that you can file a claim “at any time” following the events. This keeps cases valid even years after the abuse took place, giving survivors time to seek therapy, get out of a dangerous situation, become adults who can file their own cases, and get to a place where they are comfortable reporting the abuse and filing a lawsuit.

Retroactive Application of the Vermont Statute of Limitations for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

The other thing that § 522 does is retroactively apply this rule to older cases, specifically under subsection (d). The typical analysis for statutes of limitations is to look at the statute of limitations that was in place when the abuse occurred. If the underlying facts of your case took place a decade ago or 30 years ago, then the rules in place would have been quite different than this “no statute of limitations” rule currently in place.

In many cases, old claims would be blocked – or may have already been blocked if you tried to file before this law went into effect. As such, § 522(d) makes this new law retroactive and allows any claim that was time-barred as of June 30, 2019 to be revived. However, it is limited in that it can only apply to the actual perpetrator or certain entities.

Often, when suing an institution like a school or church for abuse, you merely need to prove that they were negligent. If you sue under the retroactive statute of limitations for a previously expired claim, you have to prove they were grossly negligent. This is a higher burden, but this kind of negligence is common in cases where churches knew about abuse and covered it up or where schools did not perform adequate investigations after reports of abuse.

Statute of Limitations for Sexual Abuse of an Adult in Vermont

If you were an adult when you were sexually abused, then you will not have as much time to file your case. Most injury claims follow a 3-year limitations period under 12 V.S.A. § 512. Sexual assault and sexual abuse also follow this 3-year limitations rule, given that most sexual abuse claims will be filed as assault and battery claims, which are specifically covered by that statute.

What Kinds of Sexual Abuse Are Covered Under This Law?

For the statute of limitations to be lifted in your case, it has to meet the kind of conduct for “sexual abuse” that this statute applies to. Some parts of the statute make it seem like there is a high bar to meet this standard, but the rule is actually quite broad.

For adult victims, you would be suing for assault and battery. This is incredibly broad and can include all kinds of injurious or offensive touching, so groping would qualify for a lawsuit the same as outright rape would. Damages differ for more severe cases, but the right to sue is not blocked because you were not abused “enough.”

For victims abused as minors, the statute of limitations applies to both sexual abuse and physical abuse, meaning that if the abuse cannot be proven to have a sexual nature, you might still be able to sue for the physical harm. Otherwise, the law defines “childhood sexual abuse” as conduct that would violate any one of a list of criminal statutes. These statutes are quite broad and also cover all kinds of non-consensual touching, allowing this law to apply broadly to all types of sexual assault and sexual abuse claims.

Filing a Case Against Institutions and Abusers in Vermont

When you file a case, you can often bring it against both the abuser and any institutions or organizations they worked for that permitted the abuse to go on. For example, many childhood sexual abuse victims report abuse by priests, teachers, camp counselors, doctors, or others in positions of authority over them, only to have the organizations sweep the abuse under the rug. These kinds of organizations are just as guilty as the abuser and may be part of the reason you were able to be abused in the first place if they did not properly investigate past allegations or failed to run adequate background checks on potential workers. Our attorneys can help you navigate the different standards required to sue entities like this in cases that would have been time-barred before the statute of limitations changed.