What Damages Are Available in a Sexual Abuse Lawsuit?

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After sexual abuse or sexual assault happens, the survivor is left with an immense potential for damages. Depending on what happened to them, they could face lifelong effects that cause flashbacks, make it hard to move forward with their lives, or result in expensive medical and mental health therapy bills. Our lawyers are here to help you understand what damages might be available for your case and how that changes based on the state the abuse occurred in.

In most cases, damages for medical bills and mental health/psychological care related to the abuse will be available. Along with these, any other financial/monetary damages, including lost wages, that can be attributed to the injury can be claimed. In addition, most claims allow damages for “non-economic” harms – the pain and suffering that comes from abuse, fear of additional abuse, guilt, shame, and all of the other mental and emotional effects of the abuse. Punitive damages might also be available, though this is likely a state-by-state issue.

For a free review of your case and help understanding what you could be entitled to claim, call our lawyers for sexual abuse victims at The Law Office of Andrew Shubin for a free, confidential case evaluation at (814) 826-3586.

Damages Available for Sexual Abuse Survivors

Damages are usually available in three major categories, though particular state laws might affect which damages are or are not available in your particular claim:

Economic Damages

Economic damages account for the financial effects of an injury or event. In the case of sexual abuse, you may need medical treatment, and you will likely need psychological treatment, therapy, or some other form of counseling. While the medical expenses are likely not too high outside of extreme cases of violent abuse, the mental health therapy bills could last for years and potentially include the cost of diagnosis, therapy, medication, and more.

Along with this, you might face difficulty working if the mental health effects of the abuse are too serious. Many abuse survivors face extreme PTSD/CPTSD with flashbacks and anxiety, preventing them from keeping regular employment. Similarly, other anxiety and depression can also result from this kind of trauma, resulting in lost wages.

Economic damages are sometimes referred to as “specific damages,” given that they account for specific amounts, or they are called “pecuniary damages.”

These and other financial harms should all be claimable in your case.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages, as the name implies, are the harms you face that do not directly affect your wallet. These are often called “pain and suffering” and “emotional distress” damages, though this category of damages can truly account for any intangible harms, whether they are physical, mental, or emotional.

Calculating the specific amount of damages to claim here is often determined based on the severity of the injuries and effects in your case. For example, if you lived for 30 years without remembering the abuse but have been facing daily panic attacks for 6 months since you recalled the abuse, these damages will account for the severe effects, but only for the short time you’ve faced them. If you have had PTSD symptoms for 30 years, your damages would be much higher.

Non-economic damages are sometimes referred to as “general damages,” given that they flow generally from injury or traumatic experiences, or sometimes they are called “non-pecuniary damages.”

Some states cap non-economic damages, though the rest of your compensatory damages are usually never capped except, potentially, in lawsuits against the government.

Punitive Damages

Sometimes called “exemplary damages,” punitive damages are meant to punish the responsible parties for their bad actions rather than reimburse the victim for what happened. In this respect, punitive damages should not be based on the harm inflicted but rather on how heinous the abuse was, whether the abuser violated a position of trust, whether an institution was involved in a coverup, and how violent the treatment of the victim was.

Punitive damages also may be based on the financial status of the abuser or responsible institutions. If you are suing an incredibly wealthy person for abuse, it might take more money to make them feel punished than it would if you were suing someone with no assets.

Punitive damages typically need to be authorized by statute for a specific type of case, though personal injury (which would include sexual abuse) is usually listed. Most states also require some kind of fault above and beyond mere negligence for punitive damages, often requiring “willful,” “wanton,” or “malicious” conduct. Sexual abuse is usually willful, but the mistakes of an institution that allowed the abuse might not rise to this standard, potentially allowing punitive damages against an individual abuser but not an institution in some cases.

Sometimes, courts are instructed to factor in “deterrence” when awarding these damages, with one goal being to stop this abuser from doing the same in the future or to stop similarly situated abusers and institutions from making the same decisions and mistakes.

Additionally, many states put caps on these damages. If there is no specific cap, the Supreme Court has usually struck down punitive damages that are more than 10 times the other damages in the case as being too much. Something like “treble” or triple damages is often deemed fair punitive damages.

State-By-State Rules for What Damages Are Available to Sexual Abuse Survivors

Because there are different rules for different states about what damages might be available under sexual abuse laws, assault and battery laws, and damage statutes, we have gathered some important state-by-state rules:

Alabama

In Alabama, punitive damages cannot exceed $500,000 or triple the compensatory damages, whichever is higher. There are also laws that protect “small businesses,” capping damages lower. This could affect your case if you sued a camp, library, daycare, or similar institution.

There are also special rules for future damages over $150,000, which might affect your case if you seek out future lost earnings or future therapy bills.

Alaska

Alaska also has rules blocking punitive damages that are more than triple the compensatory damages or $500,000 (whichever is greater) and protections for small businesses (determined by number of employers).

Arizona

Arizona has a law requiring no caps on personal injury damages.

Arkansas

The Arkansas Constitution makes caps on damages illegal, but there is a statute purporting to cap punitive damages at triple the compensatory damages (up to $1 million) or $250,000, whichever is greater.

California

California has no caps on damages for sexual abuse.

Colorado

Colorado just raised its damage caps in 2025, limiting plaintiffs to $1.5 million for non-economic losses like pain and suffering. Punitive damages cannot be more than 1:1 with the compensatory damages.

Connecticut

Connecticut traditionally caps punitive damages at the cost of litigating the case and paying for an attorney, meaning you likely cannot claim much by way of true punitive damages.

Delaware

Delaware law does not include any damage caps for sexual abuse survivors.

Florida

Florida recently changed how it awards attorneys fees in lawsuits, which may affect your case. Otherwise, the only cap on damages to speak of is on punitive damages, which are capped at triple the compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater. There is a rule that can move the cap up to quadruple the compensatory damages or $2 million, but it is unlikely to apply to sexual abuse claims because it requires the wrongdoing to have been done with the goal of financial gain.

Georgia

Georgia caps punitive damages at $250,000 for sexual abuse claims and other torts that aren’t listed under the exceptions in the code.

Hawaii

Hawaii generally caps pain and suffering for injury cases at $375,000, but this cap does not apply to intentional torts. That includes sexual abuse, so these caps should not apply. Recent legislative attempts were made to make some changes to damages, including authorizing judges to order restorative justice measures in sexual abuse claims, but that bill failed in the 2023 legislature. Despite that, some of the measures to be included in the bill might still be available to judges.

Idaho

Idaho has caps on both non-economic damages and punitive damages.

For non-economic damages, the law started with a cap of $250,000 in 2004 and raises the cap each year based on inflation of average wages on or around July 1. The cap from July 2024 through June 2025 is $490,512.33, and it is unclear what percentage increase Idaho will use for 2025. If the trend holds, the cap should raise another $30,000, give or take.

For punitive damages, there is a cap at $250,000 or triple the compensatory damages, whichever is greater.

Illinois

Punitive damages in an Illinois sexual abuse claim can be changed by the judge based on what the judge finds “excessive,” potentially dropping down the amount. In doing so, the court can look at whether the defendant owed the victim a “special duty,” which may affect cases where the victim was in the defendant’s care, such as in schools, daycares, camps, or other situations. The judge can also split off a portion of the punitive damages to go straight to the attorney to cover attorney’s fees and the like.

Indiana

Indiana caps punitive damages at triple or a mere $50,000, whichever is greater. Indiana also specifically authorizes treble (i.e., triple) damages for victims of some crimes, including criminal confinement, but this would not apply in a sexual abuse case unless the elements of that crime were met.

Iowa

Non-economic damages for a sexual abuse claim in Iowa are capped only for cases against healthcare providers, so sexual abuse claims do not face this cap. For punitive damages, there is no cap, but the law can limit plaintiffs to only 25% of the punitive damages unless the defendant’s conduct was both willful/wanton and directed specifically at the plaintiff. In most cases of sexual abuse, these elements will be met, meaning you should be able to get 100% of your punitive damages paid to you.

Kansas

The Kansas Supreme Court struck down a cap on non-economic damages as violating the Constitution’s guarantee that the jury tries your case and determines damages. As for punitive damages, the law is quite complex, but it essentially caps damages at the defendant’s highest gross income from the past 5 years or $5 million, whichever is less. This could impact your case greatly in claims against clergy or other traditionally low-wage defendants.

Kentucky

The Kentucky Constitution says there can be no caps on damages for injury, and there are no punitive damage caps.

Louisiana

Louisiana uses a lot of different terminology due to its legal history. This might be confusing when researching the law in Louisiana. Nonetheless, there are no caps on damages. Punitive damages are only available where authorized, including for sexual violence against a minor. However, these punitive damages are only available against the individual perpetrator when it reaches the level of a crime and are not available against an institution.

Maine

Maine has no caps that apply to these cases unless they are filed against government entities (e.g., schools).

Maryland

Maryland does not cap compensatory damages in most cases, but it does cap non-economic damages in virtually every case. However, the cap for these claims is higher than the normal injury cap at $1.5 million for non-economic damages.

Massachusetts

There are no caps for damages, but punitive damages are not typically allowed in injury or abuse cases in Massachusetts.

Michigan

Michigan does not use punitive damages but does use exemplary damages, though is differentiates these from the typical “punitive” damages. Instead, exemplary damages are still compensatory, non-economic damages, they are just paid separately from pain and suffering damages to compensate “injured feelings.” Other damage caps are for particular areas of lawsuits, not including sexual abuse claims.

Minnesota

Minnesota law has no relevant caps.

Mississippi

Punitive damage caps in Mississippi are set based on the net worth of the defendant. This ties these damages to the principle that these damages are meant to change to punish a specific person, based in part on how much they are able to pay, but not to be overly disproportionate. Mississippi law also caps non-economic damages at $1 million.

Missouri

Missouri’s caps on punitive damages were struck down as a violation of the right to trial by jury.

Montana

Montana caps punitive damages at the lower of 3% of the defendant’s net worth or $10 million.

Nebraska

Nebraska doesn’t allow punitive damages but has no other caps for these claims.

Nevada

Nevada caps punitive damages at 3 times the compensatory damages unless your compensatory damages are under $100,000, in which case the cap is $300,000. There are also some types of sexual abuse claims, specifically involving sexual exploitation in child pornography, which specifically award attorney’s fees and set the damages at no less than $150,000.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire doesn’t allow punitive damages to punish the defendant, but it does allow “enhanced compensatory damages” to compensate the victim further for wanton or malicious acts.

New Jersey

NJ caps punitive damages at the larger of 5 times the compensatory damages or $350,000. There are no other relevant caps.

New Mexico

New Mexico has no relevant caps.

New York

New York has no relevant caps.

North Carolina

Punitive damages are capped at the higher of $250,000 or 3 times the compensatory damages.

North Dakota

Under North Dakota law, non-economic damages are subject to being reduced for reasonableness, and punitive damages are capped at the greater of 2 times the compensatory damages or $250,000. No evidence of the defendant’s net worth can be used.

Ohio

Ohio law blocks any caps on economic damages.

For non-economic damages, there are caps, but they do not apply to permanent physical injuries. However, the Ohio Supreme Court has held that damages for psychological injuries from sexual abuse cannot be capped under these typical rules.

Punitive damages are capped at 2 times the compensatory damages for most individuals and at the greater of 2 times the compensatory damages, 10% of their net worth, or $350,000 for small businesses as defendants.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma sets caps on punitive damages, but the caps are different – or lifted altogether – depending on the jury’s findings and the category of recklessness, intentionality, or malice that the acts fit under in any specific case. Any non-economic damage caps were invalidated by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Also note that the statute of limitations is different for claims against individual perpetrators and institutions, so if the claim is brought too late, damages from the institution cannot be claimed.

Oregon

Oregon has a complex history of invalidating caps and reviving them, but the letter of the law says these non-economic damage caps only apply to wrongful death cases. However, only 30% of punitive damages go to the party, with the rest going to the state. There is also a limit on how much of that amount can go to the attorneys vs. the party themselves.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has no relevant caps.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island has no relevant caps.

South Carolina

Punitive damages in South Carolina are capped at the greater of $500,000 or 3 times the compensatory damages.

South Dakota

South Dakota has no relevant damage caps.

Tennessee

Punitive damages in Tennessee are capped at whichever is higher: twice the compensatory damages or $500,000. Non-economic damages are also capped at $750,000 per plaintiff. Statutes of limitations and evidentiary requirements are heightened for sexual abuse claims against organizations/entities (rather than the individual abuser) if they are brought more than a year after the victim turns 18, so damages from those institutions might be harder to obtain in some cases.

Texas

Caps on punitive damages are set at 1) the greater of $200,000 or 2) double the compensatory damages plus non-economic damages (up to $750,000). This cap does not apply, however, if the elements of the claim qualify as certain felonies, which include sexual assault.

Utah

Utah’s damage caps do not apply to these cases typically, but there are special rules for punitive damages. These rules give all of the first $50,000 in punitive damages to the victim, but the rest is split between the party and the state. There are also special rules for awarding attorney’s fees as part of the punitive damages.

Vermont

Vermont has no relevant caps on damages. One thing to note is that there may be certain wording and phrasing that would be rejected when proving future medical damages, so your lawyer will need to be precise and provide certain proof in your claim.

Virginia

Virginia caps punitive damages at $350,000 against all defendants. If you are suing the estate of an abuser who has died, you cannot claim punitive damages.